The 2015 Fr Frank Maher Classical Music Awards, which aim to showcase outstanding young musical talent in Ireland, are now open for applications. The awards are open to sixth year post-primary students of strings, woodwind, brass and piano.

The top prize is a bursary of €3,000 to allow the winner attend a recognised place of tuition, a course in Ireland or abroad, or for a purchase necessary for the development of his or her talent. Finalists will each receive a €250 bursary.

Emmet O’Rafferty of the security firm Top Security, the competition’s sponsor, established the Awards in 2001 in memory of the late priest who was a music teacher at his school.

Welcoming the launch of the 2015 Awards, RTÉ NSO Leader Helena Wood and RTÉ CO Leader Mia Cooper commented: 

As players, we are conscious of the enormous financial and personal investment required for young musicians. Both the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra work closely with young artists through mentoring schemes and providing performance opportunities. This prize money will provide some talented young person with valuable additional financial help in fulfilling their musical ambitions and that is something to be welcomed.

Past winners cellists Christopher Ellis and Sinead O’Halloran, and violinist Mairead Hickey, have used their bursary to attend some of the world’s most prominent music academies such as the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris and the Royal Academy of Music in London.

The closing date for entries is Thursday 15 October 2015 following which seven finalists will be invited to attend on 12 November at the Royal College of Physicians where they will perform in front of an invited audience. 

For further details, including the competition rules and a copy of the application form, visit www.topsecurity.ie/script_frank.asp.