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Minister Jimmy Deenihan Launches Ireland’s First MA in Scoring For Film & Visual Media

January 23, 2014

PULSE COLLEGE & DIT CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC PARTNERSHP BRINGS COURSE TO STUDENTS AT ICONIC WINDMILL LANE RECORDING STUDIOSPulse College Film Scoring MA Jim Sheridan-1

Minister for Arts Culture & Heritage Jimmy Deenihan T.D & film producer Jim Sheridan   launched Ireland’s first MA in Scoring for Film and Visual Media. The course will be taught by renowned national and international tutors in Pulse College’s world class facility at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin.  DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama is validating and providing the academic quality assurance leading to the award of MA to Pulse College. The one year MA in Scoring for Film & Visual Media was developed following close collaboration between both institutions and has been designed to compete with the best filming scoring courses in the world, such as those offered by UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), USC (University of Southern California) and Berklee College of Music in  Valencia, Spain. It will give students an advanced education in scoring for film, television, and video games, focusing on the art and craft of composing, orchestrating, editing, and producing music for the screen.

The course will be headed by acclaimed Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Derek Gleeson who has collaborated with the Hollywood Film Scoring Community and professionals from Scoring programmes in UCLA and USC to bring some leading international  industry figures to work with the students in Pulse College.  International tutors on the new Pulse College course include Conrad Pope who is currently orchestrating The Hobbit series, Spiderman 3 composer Christopher Young, award winning gaming scorer Gary Schyman and Emmy award winner Richard Bellis.  At the end of this one-year programme students will be capable of progressing into a variety of professions as either composer, orchestrator, music editor, music supervisor or music producer in the industries of motion pictures, television, gaming and other audio/visual media production.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Jimmy Deenihan said “I am delighted to be here to launch Ireland’s first Masters level degree in Scoring for Film and Visual Media.  This course will bring students of this discipline, from Ireland and abroad, to the highest academic level and will round out the expertise that Ireland can offer the film and visual media industries.  I believe Irish people are very highly regarded internationally in the film industry, bringing their creativity and hard-working ethic to all of the projects they are involved in whether that’s at home or abroad.  Being able to offer this level of training can only enhance the reputation of Ireland as a centre of excellence in the sector which will ultimately be good for the visual arts community in Ireland.” 

President of DIT Professor Brian Norton said “My colleagues in the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and I are delighted to be involved with the development of this exciting initiative.  DIT is the largest provider of education in the creative arts in Ireland – both visual and performing.  We currently offer Masters Programmes in music performance and conducting, and will offer a new programme in opera and repetiteurship from September.  The MA in Scoring for Film and Visual Media is an ideal addition to this portfolio and will complement our research programmes in composition as well as offering collaborative opportunities in the areas of performance, digital media and film and broadcasting.

“Pulse College also has an excellent reputation in education in the creative arts and both organisations share a similar approach to providing our students with industry experience as part of their studies.   I believe this collaboration with Tony Perrey and his colleagues will be very successful and I look forward to further developments across the areas of music, media and research.”

Course Director Derek Gleeson said the concept of bringing the Scoring programme to Ireland evolved after seeing what was on offer from Scoring Programmes in the US and realising that Ireland was in a similar position and could offer access to the academic research, facilities, talent and industry.

Gleeson said “Ireland’s film and gaming industry is big and getting bigger, the country already offers the highest quality in studios, locations and post production.  Pulse College at Windmill Lane Recording Studios brings with it the opportunity for students to learn in one of the world’s most iconic recording studio environments, and a space that has already recorded scores to films like My Left Foot, The Remains of the Day, A Passage to India, A River Runs Through It, The Mask, Michael Collins, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Mission Impossible. The recording studios have been at the heart of the Irish recording industry since 1978 with world famous clients including artists as diverse as U2, The Script, Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones.” 

Tony Perrey, President of Pulse College and Director of Windmill Lane Recording Studios said “We are delighted to add the new Masters to our expanding portfolio of multimedia courses.  We have designed this course to compete with the very best in the world and we believe it will be of interest not just to Irish students seeking a career in the visual arts, but also to international students. The strength of our portfolio of courses in audio, gaming and film places Pulse College at the heart of the Irish creative multimedia industry and we are delighted to collaborate with DIT to bring this new level of quality to film and visual media education in Ireland.”

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