Toner Quinn

Toner Quinn is Editor of the Journal of Music. His new book, What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music, is available here.

From the Editor: Irish Musicians, Do Not Normalise This Hatred
A line has been crossed. Will Irish musicians and composers participate in the new US regime?
When Stravinsky Came to Dublin in 1963
RTÉ orchestras will perform two nights of music by Stravinsky this weekend. We take the opportunity to look back on the composer's visit to Ireland in June 1963.
Will 2016 be a Turning Point for the Irish Harp?
Having a harp on our coins only really matters if we give meaning to that symbolism, writes Toner Quinn.
Time to Reignite the Fight for Music in 2016
RTÉ Lyric FM is in the news because of its schedule changes, but the strength of the response is a positive thing.
Ensemble Ériu – Stargazer
Ensemble Ériu, a group that combines traditional, jazz and contemporary music, recently toured their new six-part suite 'Stargazer'. Toner Quinn attended the opening performance in Galway.
Why We Need a Traditional Music Infrastructure
The world of the professional traditional musician appears to be contracting, writes Toner Quinn.
The End (and the Beginning) of the Experimental Music Festival
Far from 'anything goes', programming a festival of experimental music may be the most difficult type of all. With a new artistic director, the Borealis festival in Bergen, Norway, seized the challenge, writes Toner Quinn.
Who Will Invest in Irish Music?
The next steps for the Irish music industry require 'strong leadership', says a new report, but where will it come from?
‘Our media have a great deal to answer for’
Benjamin Dwyer’s new book asks hard questions about Irish musical life.
You're Not an Artist, You're a Start-Up
The feverishness around the idea of the ‘start-up’ is remarkable, and artists could learn a lot from it.
Is the Musical Focus of the Tech World Too Narrow?
Musical life is more complex than it appears online.
A Gaeltacht Moment
An upcoming festival of music and song in Conamara is about the past and the future.
From the Ground Up
Miltown Malbay and the cultural spaces that draw us back
The Thin Green Line: On Writing About Irish Traditional Music
In the world of music the printed word holds a great deal of power, writes Toner Quinn, and it should not be underestimated.
The Splintering
Towards a future of micro music communities.
The Search for Recognition
Only when artists value their own work will our society value them too.
Who Would Choose the Creative Life?
Lemonade, crisps and the creative economy
Where Noel Hill Meets Jennifer Walshe
Between cultural loss and cultural combat
The Journey of Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh
From Kitty Lie Over to The Gloaming
All to Play For
A challenge for music and musicians.
Music and the Betrayal of Ireland
A musical response to crisis.
A Connection Like a Full Moon
Is increased audience participation the great musical trend of our time?
How Can We Connect to the Musical Life Around Us?
Reflecting on the diversity and intensity of musical life.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Entrepreneur
Funding for the arts is essential, but without the right approach it can blunt artists’ entrepreneurial skills, writes Toner Quinn
In the Irish-speaking areas of Ireland, visitors are sometimes frustrated because they speak Irish to locals and are responded to in English. It doesn’t take long for them to give up altogether, deciding that the language is actually truly dead in the...
The direct impact the new digital culture is having on music, in terms of access, dissemination and copyright, is well documented, but the indirect impact less so. If, as Benedict Schlepper-Connolly suggests, digital platforms will transform the status of...
What about England?
A new generation of musicians and singers is pulling the English folk scene alongside its Irish and Scottish neighbours, pointing to a new era of collaboration – and perhaps even the healing of old wounds, writes Toner Quinn
‘I mbliana ní raibh aon urraíocht ar fáil faraor, leis an tseachtain ealaíne is oidhreachta a reachtáil mar a bhíonns againn go hiondúil.’ Or, in English: ‘Unfortunately, no sponsorship was...
A Few Days in the Sun?
The rise and fall of the Irish new music scene.
The search for a sustainable business model for the producing and selling of music in the digital age persists, but it is crippled by a narrow view of the internet. Presenting this technology as either a threat to income, due to its ability to copy content...