€1.2m Cork music programme launched this week

A €1.2m project that is, according to Lord Mayor John Buttimer, "about passing on the love of music to new generations"  was launched this week.

Music Generation Cork City was launched on Tuesday evening in Cork City Hall and coordinator Margaret O’Sullivan also announced that their first major event is taking place on 17 November in the Millenium Hall.

"We will present the Music Generation Concert Party, filling Cork City Hall to bursting point with all kinds of music for the afternoon of 17 November", she said. It will feature "the first performance of Cork's own lullabies, composed by Fiona Kelleher and arranged for choir by John O'Brien to launch our new choral programme".

Lord Mayor John Buttimer said at the launch that this is about the education opportunities that will be provided for children. He also said that were gaps in music provision in the city. 

Margaret O’Sullivan, coordinator Music Generation Cork City said: "Starting in January 2013, there will be a huge range of music activities for children. The choral program for schools will be rolled out in 2013.

At the launch of the project in New York in May 2010, Bono said: "What we want to do is really simple. We just want to make sure that everyone, whatever their background, gets access to music tuition. That's the idea."

One of the projects that will benefit from the funding and is already up and running is the Sound Out programme, based in UCC.

Grainne McHale set up the Sound Out programme to "provide inclusive music making and learning opportunities". It was set up as part of PhD research she was doing into the role of technology in music making. The programme began on Monday this week.

There are three schools involved in the project already: Sunday's Well Boys National School, Terence MacSwiney Community College in Hollyhill and the School of the Divine Child in Ballintemple.

Ms McHale says the programme brings people with and without disabilities together to make and learn music in an inclusive environment. To do that they use a number of new technologies, including soundbeam which uses movement sensors and switches so students with limited movement can make music.

"We are exploring the use of music as a tool for social inclusion," she says.

A series of new initiatives delivering music education in school and community settings throughout the city are currently in development for commencement during the academic year 2012/13.
Three of those programmes will have commenced by the end of September, engaging at least 500 children in music learning including learning instruments, theory classes, choirs, and the use of music technology across nine different Cork city schools.

These initiatives, delivered by community-based music providers, are the first wave of school-based music programmes, and will be followed by further vocal, instrumental, early years and choral programmes in January 2013.

The co-funders of Music Generation Cork City are City of Cork VEC, Cork City Council, Cork City Partnership, Cork Institute of Technology, University College Cork and the HSE.