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About Music Generation Wicklow

About Music Generation Wicklow

WHAT IS MUSIC GENERATION?

Music Generation is Ireland’s National Music Education Programme that transforms the lives of children and young people through access to high quality performance music education.

HOW IS IT FUNDED?

Music Generation is co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, The Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships.

Music Generation Wicklow is a partnership between Music Generation Ireland, Kildare & Wicklow Education Training Board and Wicklow County Council.  It is managed and administered by partner Kildare & Wicklow Education Training Board and its Steering Committee, Wicklow Music Education Partnership.

WHAT WE DO.

Music Generation Wicklow sees music education as a key tool for the artistic, social and intellectual development of children and young people. We are working towards a high quality, inclusive music education programme, which will provide a strategically designed gateway for the appreciation of music for young participants throughout all areas of society. By offering our programmes at a very competitive and accessible price we hope to engage all young people interested in music tuition and we also hold an instrument bank where many young people can rent their instrument.

Through our music programmes to primary schools in Choral Music, Foundation Music and instrumental / vocal tuition, assistance with small groups, ensembles and school orchestra’s  we currently engage in excess of 3,500 young people. In Post Primary schools we offer small group tuition in many instruments, facilitation of school orchestras, after school tuition and special projects

Music Generation Wicklow also provides summer camps, masterclasses and workshops on a regular basis. We partner with organisations such as Music Network and Bray Jazz Festival and many more to bring visiting musicians to engage with our young musicians.

We completed the delivery of our pilot programme for pre-schools Stepping Tones in 2013 to 500 children with great success and now offer this 6 week programme to all Early Years organisations.We provide summer schools in Traditional Music and other music genre open to all young people in the county and also work with youth and community groups.

Music Generation Wicklow was extremely privileged to be the beneficiary of a large Commission Series in 2014 and 2015. A large scale Choral Commission Blue Bottle was premiered in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in which 400 young singers performed with the National Symphony Orchestra and a live narrated animation show. Other commissioned works include Mostly Me a multi-genre work for young primary school children composed  by Elaine Agnew and performed in the Mermaid Theatre in Bray, The Wicklow Ways an instrumental and vocal work composed by Vincent Kennedy for older primary school children, Up the Downbeat an instrumental piece composed by George Higgs for youth musicians in Arklow which incorporated orchestral, percussion, guitar and tin whistle.  Vanished Lands was a suite of traditional music composed by Neil Martin working with two young traditional music groups in west Wicklow.

Recent engagements and performances include two projects funded by an Arts Council and Music Generation partnership titled Songs from Room 42 and Where Tomorrow Takes Us composed by students from Coláiste Bhride in Carnew and Coláiste Chill Mhantain in Wicklow and performed in the Mermaid Arts Centre in 2016. A choir of 14 children created from choral participants from Blessington No. 1 school had the privilege of taking part in A Nation’s Voice in Collins Barracks on Easter Sunday 2016 . Also our 6th class choir from Holy Rosary Primary School in Wicklow town also participated in the premiere performance of Mary Gordon in the National Concert Hall in November 2016 as part of Wicklow County Councils Celebrating 1916 events.

Gamelan workshop Bray Jazz Festival MGW 2015 07Our aims are to broaden access to high quality music education throughout the county, to diminish the barrier of cost, provide services throughout Wicklow’s diverse geographical communities, to champion music education as a tool for the creative, intellectual and social development of young people. We also aim to nurture the development of musicians and music educators as a resource within this process.

Through our support to local music groups and music organisations in County Wicklow we have funded the purchase of musical instruments to the value of just over €60,000 in 2013.

Contact Music Generation Wicklow for more information about its programmes and events. Our Face Book page is updated weekly so check it out for a taste of what we do and for up to date information on all our projects.