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AMP collective plugs in for the very last time

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The Access Music Project class of 2016.

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

After 17 years as Galway’s premier music course, the Access Music Project is closing its doors. The class of 2016 will play their end-of-year show in the Loft, Bridge St on Thursday next, September 8. The annual showcase is always a gig to remember, but this one will have an added poignancy.

Students on AMP receive tuition in voice, music theory, sound engineering, piano, guitar and percussion, as well as taking exams with the Royal Academy of Music.

“It’s more expensive to run than other Community Enterprise schemes, because of the quality and amount of people who are tutoring,” says Richie Byrne, who is the current chair of the AMP board. “We were nearly finished four years ago, before we got a very generous grant from St Vincent de Paul, the Maureen O’Connell fund. That basically kept us going until now.”

Funding challenges were then compounded by changes in how the Department of Social Protection deals with Community Enterprise schemes. AMP was once in a position where 60% of applicants were turned down, but this year it struggled to fill the 18 available places.

“Because of the new set up with the DSP, if you’re long-term unemployed, they’ll say ‘ok, we’ve found this training scheme for you, you’ll go on it’,” Richie says. “And it doesn’t matter if you’re a musician an artist or an engineer, you’re going to end up doing retail or whatever box they want you to fit in.”

Previous AMP graduates include John Conneely (from the sublime Róisín Dubh Sunday residency); Miriam Donohue (who will soon be releasing her Gavin Glass-produced debut album); and Ultan Conlon, a songwriter currently on tour in the US.

“I think AMP gave a lot of people a lot more confidence,” Richie says. “Maybe they were gigging, but they didn’t have a theoretical background so they didn’t feel comfortable about talking to other musicians. They mightn’t have felt confident about the way they played, or their voice, or their rhythm.”

“But the key thing, I think, was the support they got. From AMP, but also the people on the course with them. There’s a huge amount of groups and conglomerations that came out of the course. Nearly every band in Galway has a member that’s been on it.”

It’s not over just yet, however – for the class of 2016, there’s music to be played, songs to be sung, and a year to be celebrated.

“It’ll be a tough gig, in some ways, but I’m really looking forward to it,” Richie says. “It’s the same every year – you just can’t believe what’s happened with these musicians over 12 months.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

 

CITY TRIBUNE

Folk duo launch What Will Be Will Be

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Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce.

Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a  blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.

The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.

It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.

Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.

People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.

The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.

The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.

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CITY TRIBUNE

All roads lead to Dunmore as town tunes up County Fleadh

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Most of the competitions for young musicians will take place this Saturday in Dunmore Community School. All the competitions are open to the public.

Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.

It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.

The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023.  Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.

Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.

Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.

On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.

Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.

For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.

 

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CITY TRIBUNE

Piano concert rescheduled for Tuesday

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Pianist Cédric Pescia.

Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.

This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.

This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as  ‘language and movement at the same time’.

Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31.  These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.

■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.

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