Pop, Rock or Traditional? Music Generation Laois are delighted to announce that bookings are now open for our Summer Camps for 2017. This year will see a variety of camp choices and a range of musical genres. Our experienced and renowned tutors will work with students to unleash their creative side through classes, workshops, performances and masterclasses.
Bookings are now being taken for
– School of Rock & Pop (3 – 7 July)
– Music Generation Laois Trad Summer School (21 – 23 July)
Composer Ryan Molloy has been awarded a commission to create a ten minute piece of music for the Music Generation Laois Trad Orchestra, to be premiered in July 2017.
Ryan will work with the Trad Orchestra, gathering ideas and influences from the group to help create this new composition.
Dr Ryan Molloy is currently a composer and performer, Ryan’s work has been performed to international audiences on four continents for over ten years, including major concert venues such as Tanglewood (U.S.A.), Lucerne Hall, KKL (Switzerland), Kölner Philharmonie (Germany), Holywell Music Room (England) and Waterfront Hall (N. Ireland). In great demand as an accompanist, Ryan has recorded over a dozen albums and his repertoire spans numerous genres from traditional Irish music to contemporary classical music. The confluence of these two genres formed the basis of his PhD in composition at Queen’s University, Belfast, studying under Simon Mawhinney and Piers Hellawell.
In September 2013, Ryan joined the Department of Music at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth as a lecturer in composition.
13 young harpists from Music Generation Laois will attend this year’s Edinburgh Harp Festival from the 31 of March to the 5 of April. Edinburgh Harp Festival is internationally renowned for its vast programme of workshops and concerts, and attracts musicians from all over the world. Members of the Music Generation Laois Harp Ensembles will attend this year’s Festival with their Tutor Siobhan Buckley.
Music Generation Laois currently has 116 harp students and 2 harp ensembles, many of whom attend classes in their local primary schools. The Music Generation Laois senior harp ensemble collaborated with Scottish Harpist Catriona McKay in 2016 to create a new suite of music for harp ensemble, entitled ‘Rising of the Harps’ and most recently this group performed as part of ‘Avoca: A Celtic Journey,’ a 30th birthday concert for Music Network, with music for large-scale harp ensemble by Phillip Martin conducted by David Brophy. Music Generation Laois will host their 2nd annual Tionól for Harps and Pipes from the 3-5 November 2017, featuring workshops and performances from many well-known harpists and pipers.
A weekend of workshops and performances celebrating the harp and the uilleann pipes, bringing together musicians from Sligo, Donegal, Louth, Carlow and Laois.
Tutors: Leonard Barry (Pipes), Timothy Doyle (pipes), Fionnan MacGabhann (pipes) , Gay McKeon (pipes), Paul Harrigan (pipes), Conor Day (pipes), David Power (Pipes), Siobhan Buckley (harp), Deirdre Ni Bhuachalla (harp), Ramune Sakalauskaite (harp), Jolene McLaughlin (harp), Catriona McKay (harp) and Cormac de Barra (harp)
Friday 4 November
1pm-2pm: Registration Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
2-4pm Instrumental workshops, Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
5-6pm communal music-making/ session, Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
8pm Tutor Concert, Dunamaise Arts Centre (all students are to attend and student tickets are free of charge, parents can book tickets through Dunamaise.ie/ call 057 8663355)
Saturday 5 November
9am-11am Instrumental workshops Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
11:30am-1pm Instrumental Workshops Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
2pm-4pm Harp Instrumental Worksops, Ensemble Workshop, Reed Making WorkshopPortlaoise Youth Education Centre
5-6pm Communal Music-Making/Sessions Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
8pm Concert featuring soloists plus harp ensembles Portlaoise Youth Education Centre (all students are to attend and student tickets are free of charge, open to the public, no charge however donations welcome)
10pm-11pm Student Ceilidh Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
Sunday 6 November
9am-11am Instrumental workshops Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
11:30am-1pm Instrumental Workshops Portlaoise Youth Education Centre
2pm Student Concert, programme of music made up of repertoire covered throughout TionolPortlaoise Youth Education Centre
4pm Depart
Lunch is included
Standards: A range of classes are available, open to recent beginners to advanced students. You must have your own instrument to participate, a limited number of harps are available for Music Generation Laois students only.
Supervision: under 18s will be supervised during break times.
Open to ages 7 and upwards.
There will be an exhibition of Salvi harps at 1pm on Sunday 6 November.
Friday 4 November: Some of Ireland’s finest harpists and pipers, and the Music Generation Laois Trad Orchestra with Accordionist Martin Tourish will perform as part of the opening concert of the inaugural Music Generation Laois Tionól, a national gathering for harpists and pipers across Ireland. Dunamaise Arts Centre, 8pm
Featuring Leonard Barry (Pipes), Timothy Doyle (pipes), Fionnan MacGabhann (pipes) , Gay McKeon (pipes), David Power (Pipes), Conor Day (pipes), Siobhan Buckley (harp), Ramune Sakalauskaite (harp), Jolene McLaughlin (harp), Catriona McKay (harp) Cormac de Barra (harp) and the Music Generation Laois Trad Orchestra with Martin Tourish who will perform ‘1916: Visions and Voices’ a newly commissioned work that reflects on the events of the Easter Rising.
Free admission for Tionól students, €10/€5 for general public, booking through Dunamaise.ie/ call 057 8663355)
Saturday 5 November: Student concert and the Music Generation Laois Harp Ensemble with Catriona McKay, Portlaoise Youth Education Centre, Railway St, 8pm
Concert featuring students and groups from the Tionól including the Music Generation Laois Harp Ensemble with Catriona McKay perform ‘Rising of the Harps’ a newly commissioned work created by virtuoso Scottish harpist in collaboration with the Music Generation Laois Harp Esnemble.
Free admission, donations welcome.
Sunday 6 November: Student concert, Portlaoise Youth Education Centre, 2pm
Student Concert, programme of music made up of repertoire covered throughout TionolPortlaoise Youth Education Centre
Free admission, donations welcome.
The Music Generation Laois Tionól: Harps and Pipes 2016 is funded under the Music Generation National Projects Fund.
