by Jane O'Leary as published in the IAWM Journal, October 1996, pp. 16-17.
Ireland is a small country with an exceptionally large reputation for some of its cultural representatives. World-famous writers of the past, such as James Joyce and William Butler Yeats, are now joined by Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, by traditional musicians who perform all over the world to capacity crowds, and by film directors, such as Jim Sheridan, whose My Left Foot won Oscars a few years ago. Probably the Irish musical group that is best known world-wide is the rock group, U2. Much less is known about our "serious" contemporary composers and even less about the few women who work within that realm.
The Irish government has nurtured creative talents in recent years and has provided a number of favorable conditions that have not only encouraged foreign artists to settle here, but have also kept native artists at home. Initiatives, such as tax-free status for earnings from creative work (since 1969), arose from a pride in the thriving Irish literary community. The repercussions of these benefits have spread widely, and composers, too, are flourishing in such a receptive environment. In 1981, the government established an "academy" of distinguished creative artists with the Irish name of Aosdana. The prime minister at the time explained that this body was created "to give the artists a status and position in our society, to have the role of the artist clearly defined, and the position and prestige of the artist equally acknowledged in modern Ireland." Over the past 15 years, Aosdana had welcomed up to 150 members into its ranks, of which 17 are currently composers. Now, the upper limit of membership has swelled to 200. Members of Aosdana are eligible for an annual "salary" of approximately $12,000, provided they are willing to relinquish full-time work not related to their particular creative output. The proportion of composers to writers and visual artists gives a fairly accurate picture of the relative position of the various disciplines in Irish society. Likewise, the number of women reflects the current general ratio. Until 1996, I was the only woman composer member of Aosdana. This year, Eibhlis Farrell was elected, so women now comprise 12% of the composer members, who themselves make up about 11% of this artistic group. Writers and visual artists are evenly divided among the remaining numbers (approximately 44% each). Funding for the arts in Ireland comes from a newly created Ministry of Arts and Culture and is primarily channeled through the Arts Council. Its main forms of assistance in the field of new music are as follows:
1. Scholarships and Fellowships for Composers
One of Ireland's most promising young composers, Grainne Mulvey, has been supported in her studies at York University in England where she has been working with composer Nicola LeFanu. Recently, Marian Ingoldsby, a 30-year-old composer from the South-East part of the country, was awarded the first Elizabeth Maconchy Fellowship, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland in conjunction with York University. She entered the York Ph.D. program in composition in the Fall and is also studying with Professor LeFanu.
2. Support of Concorde
Concorde is the only chamber ensemble in Ireland that specializes in contemporary music. It is made up largely of members of the national radio orchestras. The ensemble, which I direct, has had a long-standing policy of promoting the music of women composers. Concorde, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in September 1996, has worked closely with distinguished international composers such as Hilary Tann, Nicola LeFanu, and Tera de Marez Oyens. The ensemble has also performed the music of Irish composers: Eibhlis Farrell, Mary Kelly, Grainne Mulvey, Deidre McKay, and Elaine Agnew, in recent years.
3. Funding for the Recording of Contemporary Music
No music by Irish women composers is yet available on commercial CD. A sampler of contemporary Irish music was issued by the Contemporary Music Centre in 1995 as a promotional tool. Of nine composers, I was the sole woman, and I was represented by a piece for flute and marimba, Silenzio della Terra.
4. Commissions
In 1996, 16 composers received commissions amounting to a total of approximately $45,000. This does not include orchestra commissions from the National Radio Station (RTE). In recent commissions, the ratio of women to men is about 1:3 (25%). A joint commission from the National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin and the Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, was given to Marian Ingoldsby in 1994. Her composition for orchestra, Overture, was performed by both orchestras. She had previously received national acclaim for her creation of a very successful 20-minute opera, Hot Food with Strangers, written for a small touring national opera company. Concorde also has commissioned works, such as Grainne Mulvey's Mood Swings, a trio for flute, violin, and cello.
5. Competitions
Since 1994, the National Radio Station has included a composition category in its biennial "Musician of the Future" competition, which had normally been a launching pad only for brilliant young performers. The winners of both the 1994 and 1996 competitions were women. The first winner was Grainne Mulvey for her chamber work, Rational Option Insanity, for oboe, clarinet, horn, violin, and piano. This year the winner was a 29-year-old woman from Belfast, Elaine Agnew, whose duo for cello and piano, Philip's Peace, impressed the audience with its direct appeal and driving energy.
6. Contemporary Music Centre
The main source of support for contemporary music in Ireland is through the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin. Initiated by the Arts Council in 1986, the Centre is now well established internationally as an efficient, productive, friendly, thriving source of all information pertaining to Irish composers. The Centre has a complete library of all scores (copies for sale are available in manuscript and printed editions), a data base on composers and recordings, a sound archive of both Irish and international compositions, the Directory of Irish Composers (up-dated annually), and a journal, New Music News, which is sent out three times a year free-of-charge throughout the world. In 1995 the first compilation disc of music by Irish composers was issued by the Centre and has been a major success in promoting Irish music. A second disc of recent chamber music follows at the end of this year. The Centre is run by Director Eve O'Kelly and represents 80 composers from all parts of Ireland, both North and South. Twenty-five percent of the composers are women, but with a very interesting age profile. While only 13% of the composers over 40 are female, women make up 65% of those under 30, and more than half of all Irish women composers are under 30. The number of musical compositions produced in Ireland has doubled in each decade since the 1930s. Clearly, the number of women now writing music has taken a large leap forward. The most distinguished senior composer among the women, Joan Trimble, now 81, left the country to study with Vaughan Williams. Although she stopped composing between 1957 and 1990, her output is varied and includes a number of works for two pianos, songs, a radio opera, a piano trio, orchestral works, and a wind quintet. Working at a time when there were pressures to be "modern," she said: "I had to write as I felt, what came naturally. I always felt that performers had to be considered." Composers of the middle generation, including Eibhlis Farrell and me, now enjoy frequent performances both within Ireland and internationally, particularly at many of the international women's conferences. Younger composers in Ireland benefit from a wide range of opportunities and have made an impact on the national music scene. At least in the area of contemporary music, it is good to see a gender balance in concert programs. We hope that for Irish women composers, the days of being the "first" and "only" are nearly over.
Dr. Jane O'Leary, who has been a resident of Ireland since 1972, is an internationally recognized composer. She is a member of Aosdana, Director of Concorde, and chairperson of the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin. Further information about the composers mentioned above and other details about music by Irish women composers is available from the Contemporary Music Centre, 95 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Telephone: (+) 353 1 661 2105. FAX: (+) 353 1 676 2639. E-mail: