Education
Evlana musicians & composer Sean Doherty// Workshops with Castlebar Primary School// June 2024
In June 2024, Evlana produced three workshops for Castlebar Primary School in collaboration with Linenhall Arts Centre Castlebar and composer Sean Doherty. These were an engaging and fun way for young children to meet and work with renowned composer Sean Doherty and Evlana Ensemble, some of Ireland's most renowned musicians. Composer Sean Doherty lead the pupils collaboratively in organising and expressing musical ideas though sound using themes from his new piece "The Song of Iron". This piece of music was commissioned by Evlana Ensemble with funding from Arts Council Ireland and received its World Premiere in Linenhall Castlebar on Thursday 6th June 2024. The workshops used improvisation, games and graphs notation, and resources that were on hand such as Found Sounds, Voice and Body Percussion. On 7th of June, in a workshop led by Sean Doherty, the children had the opportunity to meet the musicians of Evlana, learn about their instruments and hear a performance of Sean's new piece.
Workshops took place with funding from Arts Council Touring Award 2024
Finding a Voice 2024 // 7th Annual Composition Competition for Emerging Women Composers // February - March 2024
In February and March 2024, Finding a Voice and the Contemporary Music Centre ran their 7th competition for Emerging Women Composers in Ireland. The competition seeks to place the music of emerging women and gender minority composers on the centre stage.
Composer and founder of Evlana, Siobhán Cleary, was integral to the process, taking part as an adjudicator and mentor for the composers during the process.
Composers were shortlisted for a workshop with William Dowdall (flute) and Sylvia O’Brien (soprano), taking place the second week of January and hosted by the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland. Following the workshop, the successful composition, “Droplet” by Cathy Purcell, was selected by composer Siobhán Cleary and premiered by Evlana as part of their Finding a Voice concert on Saturday 9th March 2024. The concert also included the world première of a new commission for the ensemble by Judith Ring, alongside works by Siobhán Cleary, Gemma Peacock, Elaine Agnew, Lili Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke and Joan Trimble.
Evlana performed Cathy Purcell’s piece “Droplet” again as part of their Perfect Offering tour in June 2024, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland Touring Award.
Contemporary Music Workshop with Evlana Ensemble //
The Studio National Concert Hall // May 2023
Ahead of Evlana’s concert at the NCH in May 2023, contemporary music specialists William Dowdall (flautist) and Sylvia O’Brien (soprano) delivered a workshop to explore the challenges of interpretation, style, extended techniques, score reading, improvisation and performance practice of the 20th and 21st century contemporary landscape.
Composition Workshops with Scoil Mhuire//The Dock, Leitrim// October 2022
In September and October 2022, Evlana’s founder, composer Siobhán Cleary, led a series of educational workshops based on her piece “Ondine” with a group of pupils from Scoil Mhuire in collaboration with The Dock. who composed and performed their own composition alongside the acclaimed musicians of Evlana. The workshops took place in September and October 2022 to coincide with Evlana’s Ondine tour.
Siobhán engaged the pupils collaboratively in organising and expressing musical ideas though sound using the Ondine theme of Water and Myth. Siobhán used improvisation, games and graphs notation with the children and the children made music through found sounds, voice and body percussion. They also devised and made their own instruments and composed a piece on them, which they performed for Evlana musicians at the Dock.
The workshops were a valuable experience for the children and their teachers to work with composer Siobhán Cleary, creating and bringing a piece of music to life and getting to meet, interact and listen to a performance by some of Ireland’s most esteemed musicians.