Music Generation is coming to Fingal

Fingal is the latest area to commence participation in Music Generation, Ireland’s national music education programme which strives to transform children and young people’s lives by giving them opportunities to create, play and perform music in their own communities.

‘Music Generation Fingal’ will be established as part of the programme’s journey towards nationwide expansion, meaning that ultimately children and young people in every city and county in Ireland will have access to high quality, subsidised performance music education.

 

Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board and Fingal County Council serve Fingal’s youth population through their respective education services and over the coming years Music Generation Fingal will enrich these services by offering new opportunities for children and young people to participate in dynamic and diverse performance music education programmes.  

 

Planning for the roll-out of Music Generation Fingal is underway. The next immediate step is to recruit a new Music Generation Development Officer with specific expertise to oversee programme development. Advertisements for the role are now live on the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) website www.ddletb.ie and Fingal County Council (FCC) Arts Office website (www.fingalarts.ie)

 

Initiated by Music Network in 2010, Music Generation is co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships (LMEPs). Locally, Music Generation Fingal will be led by DDLETB in partnership with FCC and local youth education services. Its formation in Fingal follows a commitment by DDLETB and FCC to provide quality arts and cultural experiences and a commitment by Government in 2017 to support the nationwide roll-out of Music Generation as part of ‘Creative Youth’ – a Creative Ireland plan to enable the creative potential of every child and young person.

 

Commenting on the programme, Caitriona Murphy, CEO of DDLETB said: “We are delighted to be the lead partner on such an exciting venture with Music Generation and Fingal County Council. We look forward to working collaboratively with all partners to implement this wonderful programme as we open the door to performance music education for our children and young people.”

 

The Mayor of Fingal County Council, Councillor David Healy, said: “This signals a new era for music education in Fingal and is much needed following the challenging year children, young people and musicians have experienced. Providing access to high quality music education in underserved communities is imperative as we strive to embed the arts in our everyday life. We look forward to a bright and musical future in Fingal.”

 

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “Following a year of research and development Fingal are delighted to publicly announce this unique and meaningful initiative that is set to enhance the lives of many children and young people in the county. It builds on all that we in Fingal have achieved to date and provides new opportunities to grow Fingal’s cultural capacity by ensuring access to quality music education for Fingal’s youth, and by retaining and attracting music practitioners to live and work in the county.”

 

Since its establishment in 2010, Music Generation has grown to reach 25 areas of Ireland. Currently it creates some 67,000 opportunities annually for children and young people to access music tuition, and 400 employment opportunities for skilled musician educators. Since March 2020, Music Generation programmes nationwide have been adapting and innovating to find safe, inspiring ways to connect with children and young people through music, on and offline.

 

Rosaleen Molloy, National Director of Music Generation, said: ‘’Fingal has demonstrated enormous ambition and great commitment in setting out its vision for performance music education in local communities. I’m thrilled that Fingal will now be joining Music Generation, and I’m looking forward to working with all partners to realise their vision, which will bring about truly transformative outcomes for the county’s next musical generation.”

 

ENDS

 

 

Media Contact:

Cecelia Molumby, Communications and Marketing Officer Music Generation

[email protected]  / ++353 86 138 1623

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

Recruitment for the role of Music Generation Development Officer (Fingal)

DDLETB is now inviting applications from suitably qualified persons for the role of Music Generation Development Officer (Fingal). This is a five-year, fixed term contract. Application form, job description and person specification are available from www.etbvacancies.ie.  Closing date for receipt of applications: 16:00 on 23/04/2021.

 

 

About Music Generation

Music Generation is Ireland’s national music education programme which transforms the lives of children and young people through access to high-quality, subsidised performance music education. Established in 2010 by Music Network, Phase 1 of Music Generation was made possible by philanthropic donations from U2 and The Ireland Funds, which were gifted to progress the implementation of Music Network’s Feasibility Study for a National System of Local Music Education Services.  

 

Music Generation currently works closely with Government through the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and the Local Music Education Partnerships (LMEPs) established during Phase 1 – Carlow, Clare, Cork City, Laois, Limerick City, Louth, Mayo, Offaly/Westmeath, Sligo, South Dublin and Wicklow. Each of these programmes is now sustainably co-funded on an ongoing 50/50 basis by the DE and LMEPs, ensuring a long-term and lasting outcome from U2 and The Ireland Funds’ philanthropic giving. 

 

Phase 2 of Music Generation was enabled through the combined investment of U2 and The Ireland Funds to seed-fund expansion of the programme into 9 new areas of Ireland between 2017 and 2021 – Cavan/Monaghan, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Galway City, Galway County, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Waterford and Wexford. The DE has pledged its commitment to sustainably co-fund Phase 2 into the future, subject to Exchequer funding. 

 

In December 2017 Government announced its commitment to support expansion of the programme nationwide by 2022. The process for roll-out will commenced in 2019 with five further areas of Ireland: Kerry, Kildare, Longford, Meath and Tipperary. Fingal was announced as the latest area to join the programme in 2021. Subject to Exchequer funding it is intended that all remaining areas of the country will have access to Music Generation by 2022.

 

Currently Music Generation creates more than 67,000 opportunities annually for children and young people ages 0 to 18 to engage in high-quality, subsidised performance music education across more than 200 different programmes in all musical genres and styles – from trad to jazz, rock, pop and hip-hop, samba drumming, brass band, choral and orchestral initiatives, composers clubs and much more. Music Generation believes in every child and young person’s musical potential and their innate artistry, that it is every child and young person’s right to have the choice of access and the chance to participate as a musical citizen and that music doesn’t just change lives, it transforms lives. For further information visit www.musicgeneration.ie.

 

About Fingal County Council Arts Service

Fingal County Council Arts Office is the lead agency for local arts development and has supported the sector for over 25 years. The Fingal County Council Arts Plan 2019 – 2025 outlines its strategic development objectives for the next five years in response to emerging needs in the county. The arts have played a critical role in shaping the culture of the county, which is recognised for its support of artists, professional and amateur alike, and for the quality and imagination of its arts provision, reaching across people, place and practice. The direction of the Arts Office programme is informed by the key policy areas and designated staff in Youth and Education, Artists Bursaries and Residencies, Public Art and Community Grants. The Council demonstrates a sustained commitment to children and young people with the employment of a dedicated Youth & Education Officer and provision of an annual programme of educational initiatives and financial support to develop practice in early years, primary, post-primary and community education.