
Sharon Carty (Photo: Yat Ho Tsang)
Latest Music Appointments and Awards (September 2024)
The past month has seen a number of announcements in music and the arts, including new appointments, board members, arts funding and a development programme for writers. See our latest round-up below.
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Sligo Baroque Music Festival has appointed mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty as its new artistic director, effective after this year’s festival (27–29 September). She succeeds Nicola Cleary, who has held the position since 2019 and will remain on the committee.
Carty is a singer with a repertoire in both early and contemporary works, and also performs in mainstream opera and concerts. She is an alumna of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, MDW Vienna, and Oper Frankfurt Young Artist Programme, is currently an Artistic Partner to Irish National Opera, and was Artist in Association to the Irish Chamber Orchestra for the 2023–2024 season. She was awarded the Music Network/Centre Culturel Irlandais Music Performance Residency 2024–2025 and recently released two albums of works by Charles Villiers Stanford.
Carty’s first event in her new role was the ‘Opera After Dark’ performance on 20 September as part of Culture Night. Additionally, the festival will launch the Sligo Baroque Music Festival Chorus, directed by Carty, that will meet monthly and perform at future festivals. This initiative is funded by the Sligo Business Improvement District.
Speaking about her appointment, Carty said
I’m honoured and excited to take on this new role with Sligo Baroque Music Festival and spend more time in this beautiful county. It’s particularly special for me as my family roots are here. This festival is a jewel in the music and festival scene of the northwest of Ireland, and I can’t wait to continue to build on the incredible work that has been done by Nicola and her team. I am particularly looking forward to establishing our very own Festival Chorus and working closely with singers in the region in the run up to my first festival in 2025.
Visit: https://www.sligobaroquefestival.com/news.
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The Arts Council has announced that 184 new schools and Youthreach centres will join the Creative Schools programme. This brings to 1,100 the number of Irish schools who have participated since the programme began in 2018. One in four Irish schools will have now been part of the Creative Schools programme.
This year’s intake includes 51 DEIS schools and 23 Irish-language schools. Each selected school will receive a €4,000 grant and collaborate with a professional Creative Associate for two years to develop a tailored Creative School Plan. The initiative aims to enhance children’s access to arts and culture, empowering them to engage in various creative activities, from performance and photography to baking and gardening, positively impacting their well-being.
Creative Schools is an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme and is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
See the full list of selected schools below. For further information, visit www.artscouncil.ie.
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Music Network has been awarded £10,000 from the Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards, which is distributing over £1 million to charitable causes this year. This funding will support the Music Network Lullaby Residency, led by Dr Eamon Sweeney, aimed at fostering social, cultural, and artistic inclusion for migrant communities in County Clare. The residency provides cultural exchange through music and play, bringing together young children and their families.
In collaboration with Glór in Ennis and North West Clare Family Resource Centre, the programme will also support the mentorship of musicians to deliver Lullaby Residencies in the future. The project aims to strengthen community bonds and promote cultural understanding in Clare.
Speaking about the award, Sharon Rollston, Chief Executive of Music Network said:
Through music, we can discover the common threads that bring people together, and in a world too often focused on our differences, finding what unites us is more important than ever. Our vision is of a culture that increasingly values live music as an essential part of a healthy, vibrant and diverse society.
Visit www.musicnetwork.ie.
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Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Brian McDonagh, writers Joshua Manuel-Oni and Mary Lennon, and County Arts Officer Sarah O’Neill.
Fingal County Council Arts Office has partnered with the Irish Writers Centre to provide professional development opportunities for writers through the National Mentoring Programme. This year four writers – Sam Furlong Tighe, Beth Storey, Joshua Manuel-Oni and Mary Lennon – will receive eight months of one-on-one literary mentoring from a renowned Irish writer of their choice.
The mentorships are funded by Fingal Arts Office and the Arts Council, enabling the selected writers to receive this opportunity free of charge. The programme, running since 2017, aims to support the development of emerging writers and has numerous published authors among its alumni including Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Fíona Scarlett, Will Keohane, Alice Kinsella and Victoria Kennefick.
Visit www.fingal.ie/news.
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The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has announced the appointment of Sir Mark Grundy as a new trustee on its Board of Trustees. Grundy is the CEO of Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust and brings significant experience in education and leadership, having led the Trust since 2007. Additionally, Jane Fielding and Gurpreet Bhatia, who have both served as trustees, have been appointed as Deputy Chairs. Jane Fielding is formerly a partner at Gowling WLG LLP while Gurpreet Bhatia is a solicitor and managing partner at Harbans Singh & Co.
Visit https://cbso.co.uk/about-us/staff-trustees.
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In other recent news, Irish National Opera has announced the seven artists who will take part in the 2024–25 INO Studio. See more here.
For July/August appointments, see here.
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Published on 26 September 2024
Shannon McNamee is Assistant Editor of the Journal of Music.