Welcome
Irish Heritage is a registered charity, established in London in 1974, whose object is to advance public education and appreciation of the arts, particularly those of Irish and Anglo-Irish music, arts, literature and drama of all genres and traditions to the benefit of the community.
The organisation delivers its charitable objectives through four ongoing programmes: collaborations with like-minded organisations, education including bursaries, events, and outreach and community activity.
31st January is closing date for submissions for 2020/21 Music Bursary for Composition
Published 3 days ago
£3,000 Award for successful young composer
Now in its third year, the bursary is awarded for an original, classical music composition on an Irish theme. This year’s theme is “Inspiring the Spirit” – a response to the need to enable the joy of music to lift the gloom that has descended on these islands and the world in general as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bursary, which has a prize of £3,000 and includes a world premiere performance in London, is open to young Irish composers of senior conservatoire or early career level up to the age of 30 studying at recognised music conservatoires and other colleges in Ireland and Britain.
Commenting on the imminent closing date, Patrick Lennon, Chairman of Irish Heritage said, “The quality of entries received over the past two years has been outstanding, I’m sure that this year’s submissions from young Irish composers in both countries will be of a similar standard. I encourage them to ensure they meet the closing date and time of 31st January at 6.00pm.”
Submissions should be emailed in pdf format with an MP4 file to: audrey.mckenna@irishheritage.org.uk
The previous recipients of the Bursary are:
2018/19 Niall Tormey, a Masters of Composition student at NUI Maynooth;
2019/20 Aran O’Grady, A Masters of Opera Composition student at Guildhall School of Music.
Latest News
Carolyn Holt features in ICC Digital Christmas Special
Published about 1 month ago
Mezzo-soprano Carolyn Holt was the first recipient of the Irish Heritage Music Bursary for Performance in 2015 and has gone on to be awarded many other prestigious prizes among them the best Irish singer in last year’s Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition.
Carolyn, who comes from County Kildare, is in demand as a soloist with orchestras and choral societies throughout Britain and Ireland where critics have acclaimed her “wonderful, rich tone.”
Earlier this month she performed in Irish Heritage’s “Christmas by Candlelight” virtual concert that can be viewed on the charity’s YouTube channel.
During the summer Carolyn recorded a special recital in the auditorium of the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith for the Centre’s ICC Digital channel. The recital features a selection of music chosen by Carolyn on the theme of “freedom”.
The recital has been selected by the Centre to be its 2020 Christmas special. The trailer to Carolyn’s performance is at this link:
https://www.facebook.com/IrishCulturalCentre/videos/242653483866880
The full recital is on ICC digital at: www.irishculturalcentre.co.uk
