17-year old cellist Killian White has been announced as the winner of this year’s Frank Maher Classical Music Awards. The Awards, sponsored by Top Security, are aimed at sixth-year students of strings, woodwinds, brass and piano, providing a €5,000 bursary to support instrument purchase or further study.

White, who performed works by Fauré and Paganini in front of a judging panel consisting of Dr Gerard Gillen, Dr Kerry Jouston and Veronica McSwiney, intends to audition for the Conservatoire Nationale de Paris. A €250 bursary was also given to each of the six finalists: Emily Crowley (piano), Fiachra de Hora (viola), Antonia Huang (piano), Martina O’Connell (flute), Rachel O’Hara (piano) and Zoe Nagle (cello).

A Master’s student at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Clodagh Kinsella, won a first prize of €2,000 at the Irené Sandford singing competition, an internal competition in honour of the former Head of Singing at the RIAM. Another RIAM student, 4th-year Amy Gillen, was one of three young players to receive the Rising Star 2017 award at the James Galway Flute Festival in Weggis, Switzerland, alongside Lorenzo Morocchi (Italy) and Katy Wherry (USA). 

As reported in The Journal of Music in January, the National Concert Hall will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to pianist John O’Connor at a Gala Concert on 26 November in recognition of his contribution to classical music in Ireland. The pianist, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year, will perform at the event, as will mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, pianists Veronica McSwiney, Finghin Collins and Philippe Cassard, clarinettist John Finucane, and a chamber orchestra of alumni and staff of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Proceeds from the event will go in support of the Dublin International Piano Competition.

For more, visit https://goo.gl/74g8pj