2024 Music for Schools Competition Finalists Announced
Waltons New School of Music
Today, 1 March, RTÉ lyric fm announced the twelve school music groups (six primary and six post-primary) selected as Finalists in the 2024 Waltons RTÉ lyric fm Music for Schools Competition. There was a huge response from schools around the country when this year’s Competition was announced last December, and the closing date last Friday saw a deluge of primary, post-primary and special school entries flooding in from 19 different counties.
Our first-round adjudicators were enormously impressed by the high standard of entries this year and the imagination, musicality and effort evident in each of them, and they had their work cut out for them in selecting just twelve groups (six primary and six post-primary) to perform in the 2024 Music for Schools Competition Finalists Concert, which will take place in the National Concert Hall on Monday, 8 April.
At the Finalists Concert, our distinguished adjudicators Zoë Conway and Liam Ó Maonlaí, as well as one of the Competition co-directors, will select six of these groups – three primary and three post-primary – to win First, Second and Third prizes, as well as €2,000, €1,000 and €500 vouchers for musical instruments and equipment from Waltons Music Ireland for their schools.
The Finalists were selected based on several criteria, including musicality, originality, inclusiveness and how effectively and creatively they addressed this year’s Competition theme, ‘Music Moves’.
We thank all of the performers, teachers, principals and schools who worked so hard to put together some truly extraordinary Competition entries. You can all be very proud of your musical achievements, and if your school wasn’t selected as a Finalist this year, we do hope that the process has been a rewarding one and you will enter again next year.
Primary Finalists
Our six Primary Finalists are:
- Carrig National School, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
- Corpus Christi Primary School, Moyross, Co. Limerick
- Gaelscoil Aonach Urmhumhan, Aonach Urmhumhan, Co. Thiobraid Árann
- Knockanean National School, Ennis, Co. Clare
- LurgyBrack National School, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
- St. Teresa’s National School, Killoe, Co. Longford
Post-Primary Finalists
Our six Post-Primary Finalists are:
- East Glendalough School, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow
- Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin
- Lucan Community College, Lucan, Co. Dublin
- Scoil Mhuire, Trim, Co. Meath
- St. Mary’s Secondary School, Edenderry, Co. Offaly
- St. Mary’s Secondary School, Macroom, Co. Cork
The first-round adjudicators also selected a standout entry to perform in the Finalist Concert – a group from Scoil Bernadette Special School, Montenotte, Co. Cork.
In addition to the Finalists, the adjudicators also singled out groups that were not selected but of particular merit as either Commended or Highly Commended. A list of these schools will be available on the Competition web page soon, and they will receive commendation certificates for all participants in acknowledgement of their achievements.
Profiles and videos of the Finalist schools, as well as lists of Highly Commended and Commended entries, will be available soon on the Competition YouTube channel and web page.
Thank you to the many schools around the country that submitted such wonderful performances for this year’s Music for Schools Competition. Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your beautiful music with us!
Finally, we are delighted to report that the Finalists Concert on 8 April will be live webcast and can be watched from all over Ireland and around the world. Keep an eye out for the details, which will be available soon on this and the RTÉ lyric fm websites.
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