Blackwater Valley Opera and the Royal Irish Academy of Music announce transformative prize to support next generation of talent
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival and the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) have announced a transformative new music prize to support the studies of two Masters students every year at Ireland’s national music conservatoire.
The largest bursary of its kind in Ireland, the BVOF/RIAM Next Generation Awards will select one vocal studies student and one instrumental student annually to receive €20,000. This new award will assist each winner to complete their two-year Master in Music Performance programme at the RIAM.
NEXT GENERATION AWARDS
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (BVOF) have carefully designed the awards to meaningfully support the next generation of classical musicians studying and working in Ireland.
The entrance bursary provides access to the acclaimed Masters programme at the RIAM, plus a unique performance platform at Ireland’s Summer Opera Festival - within the impressive setting of the Blackwater Valley in County Waterford.
Ireland’s oldest conservatoire, an associate college of Trinity College, the University of
Dublin, and ranked in the top 50 institutions in the world for the performing arts, the RIAM offers junior, pre-college, undergraduate and postgraduate musical training of the highest standards. RIAM Exams assess and support the learning and development of young musicians and their committed teachers throughout the island of Ireland.
Speaking at the award announcement, RIAM Director Deborah Kelleher, said: “This award is truly life-changing for two emerging young music professionals each year. This is the largest entrance bursary in the history of the Academy, the largest of its type in Ireland, and indeed, bursaries this generous are rare across conservatories worldwide.
“We are beyond thrilled to partner with BVOF and the John Pollard Foundation to offer this astonishingly generous bursary to some truly talented and remarkable musicians. The new award will open the doors of the RIAM to students across the globe, who may not otherwise have the means to study at Ireland’s oldest conservatoire, right in the heart of Dublin.”
The Masters in
Music Performance Programme attracts instrumentalists and vocalists from all over the world who have achieved a high level of technical and musical skills in their undergraduate studies and want to work with the RIAM’s renowned tutors.
In September 2022, RIAM is set to open a brand new €25 million world-class campus that will double the number of teaching and practice rooms and includes a 300-seat recital hall, library and research hub, opera studio, music discovery and therapy facilities, and a sonic arts hub.
SUPPORTING EMERGING TALENT
Director of BVOF, Eamonn Carroll, added: “The new BVOF/RIAM Next Generation Award will provide vital support for emerging artists in Ireland; it has always been our ethos to support and promote exceptional talent and we are delighted to partner with RIAM on this important initiative.
“This award is a significant new addition to our bursary programme, which also includes our own BVOF Bursary Award of €10,000 and collaborations with the RDS and Irish Heritage.”
The award is open to vocal and instrumental students worldwide who apply to study on the Masters in Music Performance programme at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, with a particular focus on applications from tenor/countertenors for the vocal award.
One vocal student and one instrumental student will be chosen through their RIAM audition to receive the award, which will be provided as €10,000 in Year 1 and €10,000 in Year 2. Students interested in studying at Masters level at the RIAM from September 2022 can apply from March 1 to April 12, 2022. All applicants will be eligible for the award.
More information on how to apply and audition requirements can be found on riam. ie/apply
2022 OPERA FESTIVAL
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival – Ireland’s Summer Opera Festival – returns for 2022 with Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice - conducted by Peter Whelan and directed by David Bolger, from May 31-June 6 in Lismore, Co Waterford. This year’s opera production will feature artistic collaborations with the acclaimed Irish Baroque Orchestra and award-winning CoisCéim Dance Theatre.
There will be classical music recitals and concerts, schools and free events, and dining experiences at fantastic venues throughout the Blackwater Valley. Lismore Castle has been the festival’s home since 2010, with the old Stable Yard and impressive grounds of the Castle providing a magical backdrop for our bespoke opera production each summer.
Some of this year’s highlights include a series of unmissable concerts in the breathtaking Dromore Yard, featuring Maurice Steger and Friends: with Daniele Caminiti and Mauro Valli; the phenomenally talented pianist Giovanni Bellucci; and the Irish Baroque Orchestra, conducted under the artistic direction of Peter Whelan.
The recitals series will feature a variety of beautiful programmes in the magical surrounds of Lismore Castle, Salterbridge
House, St Carthage’s Cathedral, Villierstown Church and Tourin House. Dining and hospitality will be part of the unique festival experience once again this year in the beautiful grounds of Lismore Castle and at Dromore Yard, Co. Waterford.
For the most up to date information visit blackwatervalleyoperafestival.com
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival is supported by grants from
the Arts Council, Waterford City & County Council, Waterford Leader and Fáilte Ireland. The festival’s lead sponsors are Kildare Village, Marsh, AIB and the John Pollard Foundation.