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2019 Waltons Music For Schools Competition

Announcing the 2019 Waltons Music for Schools Competition!

About the Competition

Running since 2011, the Waltons Music for Schools Competition is a non-profit national event celebrating and supporting music in Irish schools.

The Music for Schools Competition is run by Waltons New School of Music and is generously supported by RTÉ lyric fm.

All primary and post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to enter the Competition, and schools from all 26 counties have participated.

Each year’s Competition culminates in a gala Finalists Concert, in which twelve Finalist school groups (six primary and six post-primary) perform before their peers and two distinguished adjudicators.

At the end of the Finalists Concert, the adjudicators announce six winning primary and post-primary schools, which receive awards totalling €7,000 worth of vouchers for musical instruments, accessories, books, music technology or PA equipment from Waltons Music, including two First Prizes of €2,000 vouchers.

The Process

  • Schools form an instrumental, vocal or mixed music group of up to 40 members, made up of current students in the school.
  • The group develops a piece or song, no more than five minutes long, that addresses the year’s Competition theme. The piece or song can be in any music genre (classical, traditional, rock/pop, musical theatre, jazz, world, etc.) or combination of genres, and it can consist of existing or original material. This year’s theme is Music =. (What it equals is up to you!)
  • Schools submit an online entry form and send a video of the group’s performance and a jpeg photograph of the group.
  • The initial entries are judged by a team of first-round adjudicators, and twelve Finalists (six primary and six post-primary) are selected.
  • The Finalists are announced by Liz Nolan on RTÉ lyric fm.
  • The twelve groups perform in a Finalists Concert at the National Concert Hall, and the six winning schools are announced at the end of the concert.

2019 Competition Calendar

Friday, 22 March 2019, 5 pm • Entry Deadline

  • Deadline for schools to submit their entries (consisting of an entry form, video recording and photograph).

Friday, 29 March, 1 – 4 pm • Announcement of Finalists

  • The twelve Finalist schools are announced by Liz Nolan on RTÉ lyric fm’s The Full Score programme.
  • Finalist school videos are added to the Waltons Music for Schools Competition YouTube channel (youtube.com/waltonsmusicschools).

Tuesday, 7 May • Finalists Concert, National Concert Hall

  • The twelve Finalists school groups perform in a gala Finalists Concert.
  • Finalists Concert videos are added to the Music for Schools Competition YouTube channel.

MORE INFORMATION

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