Live Music Now Northern Ireland welcomes sixteen new musicians onto its development programme. Spanning musical styles as diverse as jazz, classical, Irish trad and pop, the musicians are drawn from across Northern Ireland, Donegal and Dundalk.
They are trad cross-over trio The Henry Girls; jazz duos Anna Nolan and Rohan Warner, and Victoria Geelan and Neil Burns; singer-songwriter Jared Green, classical quartet Glas Quartet; pop duo Beauty Sleep; and folk duo Aideen McGinn and Martin Coyle. Following their induction, the new recruits will be placed in a range of settings, including special schools and health settings, while receiving the structured specialist training and mentoring for which Live Music Now is renowned.
Alice Lewis, Director of Live Music Now Northern Ireland said:
‘Our new inclusive recruitment process has yielded a wealth of exceptional talent and experience. We had almost seventy applicants in this round, a record high for Northern Ireland. Previously our scheme was only open to young, early career musicians, but we’ve lifted our age restrictions and focused on musicians who want to diversify their career and develop new, rewarding areas of work. The result is a diverse intake of musicians of outstanding calibre.
We’re looking forward to working with them on our creative health, community and inclusive schools programmes. We’d like to thank the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for supporting us and the development of home-grown musicians.’
Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music and Opera at Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented:
‘The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to support Live Music Now. Thanks to National Lottery players, sixteen Northern Irish musicians will be take part in Live Music Now’s impressive outreach and development programme which creates access to high-quality music making, helping to bring great art to all.
Not only do the programme participants benefit but the musicians themselves also reap rewards by receiving specialist training and mentoring, thus developing their professional careers through the learning of new skills. Well done to all involved.’
The Henry Girls
Irish Trio (Vocals, Fiddle, Ukulele, Harp, Piano, Piano Accordion, Tin Whistle)
