Blackwater Valley Opera Festival Announces 2021 Bursary Recipients

Amy Gillen and Rory Dunne share valuable €10,000 award

Irish Heritage’s collaborator, the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (BVOF), has announced that the co-recipients of its 2021 Music Bursary are flautist Amy Gillen and bass-baritone Rory Dunne. The recipients share a prize of €10,000.

Multi-award winning Amy Gillen is well known to Irish Heritage audiences and supporters. She received the charity’s Music Bursary for Performance in 2018 and has since performed at a number of its live and virtual events, most recently in the 2020 “Christmas by Candlelight concert”.

Kildare born Bass-Baritone Rory Dunne studied at TU Dublin Conservatoire and has gone on to perform with Wexford Festival Opera, Lyric Opera Productions, Irish National Opera, Cork Opera and Opera Collective Ireland. He received the 2020 PwC Emerging Young Artist Bursary.

In an enhancement of the collaboration between the BVOF and Irish Heritage, both recipients will perform at an Irish Heritage concert in London in the 2021/22 season.
The BVOF Bursary supports exceptionally talented artists and is a vital part of the Festival’s commitment to nurture and develop the careers of the best emerging Irish performers. The bursary recipients are selected by the Festival’s Artistic Director, Dieter Kaegi, and are encouraged to use the funding to further their musical education and performing ability.

Announcing the award, Dieter Kaegi commented, “Amy and Rory are most deserving recipients of our 2021 bursary award and we are looking forward to welcoming them back to perform at the Festival later this year.”

This year’s Festival will take place in Lismore, County Waterford between 1st and 5th September, for further information please visit: www.blackwatervalleyoperafestival.com