Author: Press Officer

As part of the exciting programme of events taking place at the 2012 festival IMRO will host a series of Traditional Music Showcases and Master Classes in the New Theatre, Temple Bar, over the course of the festival.

The competition to select a song to represent Ireland at the Pan Celtic International Festival which will be hosted by Carlow in 2012 was launched recently at Oireachtas na Samhna. The competition is for a new song in Irish to represent Ireland at the international festival. Each of the participating countries must enter one song in its own celtic language. The six entrants are Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Isle of Man and Cornwall.

Filmbase, the not-for-profit resource centre for filmmakers, has announced a special panel discussion open to the public entitled; Press Play: Exploring New Opportunities where Movies, Music and Video Games Converge at 6:30pm on Thursday November 17th at their headquarters in Temple Bar, Dublin.

Filmbase, supported by PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, and IMRO have assembled a panel of industry experts from the film, music and video games industries to explore the exciting prospect of increased collaboration between the sectors and the opportunities arising from this. Each of the experts has real-world experience in collaborating across the three industries and collectively have been involved with hugely successful ventures such as Bejeweled, Prince of Persia, Mission Impossible and Massive Attack to name a few.

The panel contains Andrew S. Walsh (Screenwriter/Director), Paul Breslin (PopCap Games), Daniel Spencer (Pegbar – Animation), Steve Lindsey (elevate Music / IMRO Board Member) and Gregory Magee (Composer). Well known music and games journalist Joe Griffin will MC the panel.

The event is free to attend; places are limited so please book your place by contacting Clare Creely of Filmbase on clare@nullfilmbase.ie or telephone (01) 679 6716. More details are available at www.filmbase.ie/pressplay.

There will also be a special address from Forfás who wrote a report entitled; THE GAMES SECTOR IN IRELAND: AN ACTION PLAN FOR GROWTH.

Alan Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of Filmbase. said: “Ireland has seen an explosion of growth in the media and gaming sectors in recent years. Advances in technology keep bringing these relatively new industries closer and closer to the traditional film, animation and music sectors. Filmbase felt it was the right time to bring representatives of each industry together to discuss the opportunities that are beginning to emerge as a result of this rapid convergence. We hope that Press Play will stimulate a valuable discussion about the current state of the creative industries in Ireland and where the real opportunities for growth and collaboration for the future can be developed.”

Filmbase is a not-for-profit resource centre for filmmakers supported by the Arts Council

The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) will host a songwriting workshop for 12-18 year-olds in The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim on Saturday, 26th November (12pm – 6pm).

MIDEM is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967. Bringing together musicians, business people, cultural policy makers, and journalists from many countries, it provides a forum for business talks, discussing political and legal issues, and showcasing new artists, musical trends and music-related products.

The world premiere of Kilcormac, a new Cantata by Vincent Kennedy commissioned by Offaly County Council will take place in the KDA Hall in Kilcormac, County Offaly on Sunday 27^th November at 4pm.

The new work combines choral, solo voice, instrumental and music in traditional Irish idiom and is inspired by stories, events, history and poetry on many facets of life in Kilcormac past and present.  The piece will begin with a look back to the very beginning when the first men and women recorded in Ireland, lived around present day Kilcormac. Another movement is based on words from the ancient Kilcormac missal. The middle section is inspired by the story of the 500 year old wooden Pieta of Kilcormac that was hidden in the bog by six local men in safety from Cromwell’s advancing army. There it lay covered in peat until the last person who knew its location was carried on his deathbed aged 90 to the bog.  When he pointed out where he and others had buried it 60 years earlier the people dug down and re-discovered the Pieta perfectly preserved.  It is venerated to this day in the parish church of Kilcormac. 

Vincent has been working with the pupils of the local national and secondary schools and with local choirs, singers and instrumentalists and the new composition stems from a very collaborative process with all these elements. In addition Vincent invited Offaly native Eleanor Lamb to work alongside him with the national school children making their own instruments and also using the enormous array of percussion instruments Eleanor has collected from all parts of the world. Under Eleanor’s guidance the children are creating their own compositions and sound pictures for the performance inspired by the bog and local field names.

Also performing in Vincent Kennedy’s Band for this world premiere is Matthew Manning (Oboe), Adele O’Dwyer (Cello), Oisín Kennedy (Percussion), Patrick Hughes (Saxophones), Niall O’Sullivan (Trumpets), Aisling Kennedy (Soprano), Cliona Warren (Bassoon), Karen Abe (Keyboards and Trumpet). 

The award winning poet Ann Egan, whose has family ties with Kilcormac, has written a new poem which Ann will read as part of the performance accompanied by solo cello.  Vincent met Ann at a recent stay in Annaghmakerrig and the collaboration was born.  The great dual star Offaly GAA man Liam Currums (only man alive to win back to back All-Ireland medals in football and Hurling and also to receive All Stars in both Football and Hurling), a native of Kilcormac has also accepted Vincent’s invitation to narrate the opening of Kilcormac. 

THE BEST OF IMRO SHOWCASE TOUR 2011

The Workman’s Club, Dublin

Saturday October 22^nd, 2011 from 7pm

Hosted by RTE 2FM’s Jenny Huston

Twelve acts over two stages, all under one roof!

ENTRY IS FREE!!

Featuring performances from Rams Pocket Radio, The Young Folk, Henrietta Game, The Fallen Drakes, Daithí, Ghost Estates and more.

The 20^th IMRO Showcase Tour will come to a very loud close on Saturday October 22^nd at The Workman’s Club in Dublin. Following twelve hugely successful showcase events across Ireland, twelve acts will now take to the stage in Dublin to celebrate the Best of the IMRO Showcase Tour, a free event hosted by RTE 2FM’s Jenny Huston.

The Best of the IMRO Showcase Tour will be an entire evening of free live music from 7pm ‘til 3am, featuring the very best emerging Irish artists.

From 600 applications, over fifty artists were chosen to take part in the 2011 IMRO Showcase Tour, performing at twelve venues across the country including Derry, Belfast, Limerick, Dublin, Cork, Mayo, Athlone, Galway and Kildare. The Best of the IMRO Showcase Tour will take over The Workman’s Club on Dublin’s Wellington Quay on Saturday October 22^nd, with twelve acts showcasing their music to industry folk and fans alike. Currently included on the line-up are Daithí, Danielle Harrison, Ghost Estates, Henrietta Game, I’M YOUR VINYL, Marc O’Reilly, Pearse McGloughlin, Rainy Boy Sleep, Rams Pocket Radio, The Empire Lights, The Fallen Drakes and The Young Folk

The 2011 Best of IMRO Showcase Tour is open to all music fans and entry is free.  Doors open at 7pm and  the shows will take place in The Venue and Venue Bar of The Workman’s Club These shows will be Over 18’s and ID may be required

The IMRO Showcase Tour is proudly sponsored by

2FM, The Irish Daily Starand State.ie.

Music equipment on the night to be kindly supplied by Music Maker.