Music Education Position Paper

Context
It is without a doubt that music enriches all of our lives. South Dublin County Council is committed to continuing support for a sustainable framework of art-form development and music education opportunities.

Two key priorities for the Arts Office have been to encourage
• an environment that allows musicians to explore their creativity and produce innovative and ambitious works of excellence.
and to promote
• an open and socially inclusive access to and participation in a process of cultural and musical expression that is of the highest standard.

Capital Investment
To this end, the Council has established a number of culture and leisure facilities which have purpose-built music education and performance resources. The Civic Theatre and RuaRed Arts Centre are two venues which have dedicated music performance and rehearsal spaces. In 2008, a subsidised music-recording facility was introduced at RuaRed – Contact Studio. This facility has mobile recording capacity and has the potential to bring its equipment and expertise to appropriate venues throughout the county.

Commissioning new work and Music Bursaries
In addition to capital projects, music is well represented throughout the In Context 1-3 commissions. (1999-2007) Similarly, a number of musicians, composers and music facilitators have also benefitted from the local authority Artists Bursary Award.

Music and Local Arts
From 2006-2008, a local partnership initiative with RAPID operated in North Clondalkin which amongst other things, sought to develop local access to music performances and tuition. This was achieved by forging relationships at a micro-level within the local North Clondalkin area (population 14,000).

Learning from this initiative led to the development of the county-wide youth music project ‘Suburban Sounds’ the outcomes of which can be seen on Utube channel www.youtube.com/user/SuburbanSoundsDublin. This project was a partnership initiative between SDCC Art Office & NOISE, AltEnts & the South Dublin Rock School and RuaRed. It continues under the supervision of the new Music Education Service.

Music Education
In 2008, further investment in county-wide access to music education was made and the Music Education Service was established. Co-ordinated by composer and musician Michael Fleming, the service seeks to forge a co-ordinated route through formal and informal learning for the aspiring musician.

The service recognises that music-making helps young people in particular, to develop their potential, shape their identities and contribute to society and thus seeks to create pathways between in-school curricular music education and extra-curricular opportunities accessing the highest quality in music-making including music tuition – vocal and instrumental, music technology, song-writing, performance and recording opportunities. The Music Education Service, in partnership with Contact Studio, is currently involved in an application process to provide FETAC accredited courses in music, music technology and related fields.

The ultimate aim of the service is to create a sustainable and enriching music education environment that provides equality of opportunity for all people of South Dublin.

Music Partnerships and Outreach
The Arts Office has teamed up with a number of community-based arts and culture organisations which offer access to quality music experiences. A number of long-standing relationships exist with AltEnts/ the Dublin Rock School and the Tallaght Community Arts/ the Sounds Ensemble both of which offer dedicated and/or multi-disciplinary access to music participation within the community.

Amateur or non-vocational music groups also receive development support through the Arts Act Grants, Project Awards and other avenues. While similar supports are offered to other youth and local organisations which may have a more ad hoc or seasonal requirement for access to resources supporting musical endeavour.


Music Policy Proposition

In relation to music in the county, South Dublin Arts Office

• ensures an inclusive approach to all music-making opportunities
• ensure an ease of access to the programmes and services for all participants
• engages with a diverse range of musical styles
• nurtures existing musical creativity
• encourages standards of the highest quality in all music activities, especially in commissioning new work and in music education
• encourages professional training for practitioners and tutors
• promotes performance opportunities for amateurs, students and professionals
• recognises the benefit of professional development opportunities for music practitioners
• values the importance of monitoring and evaluating all Council services relating to music, in order to ensure the highest standards in service provision
•prioritises sustainability in all music service provision.

Michael Fleming, Music Education Coordinator
Fiona Delaney, Public Consultation Co-ordinator