Post by Jason Camelio, director of international programs.
Ronan Guilfoyle is a force in the world of music. In addition to being a world-class bassist, composer and educator, he is the founder and artistic director of the Newpark Music Centre just outside of Dublin. His deep passion for music and music education, intense studiousness and brilliant wit have taken Newpark from its start in 1979 to its current status as a top institution for contemporary music education.
By: Matthew Halpin, Presidential Scholar, Tenor Saxophonist, Composer and Bandleader. See Ireland Gets the Presidential Treatment for more on the Matt Halpin Group Tour of Ireland.
The past two weeks have been extremely busy for all of us, and hugely successful too. The four Dublin performances were all packed and very well received. The workshop and the two performances in Sligo also had really good numbers, especially for a Sunday and Monday night. The Headford workshop was tied in with a summer school that’s was going on at the time so there were about 30 students between the ages of 8 and 18, many of which came to the performance that night with parents and siblings. So, again the room was filled to capacity! The workshop at the Berklee International Network partner Newpark Music Centre in Dublin was attended by several of the degree students and a number of younger students who had heard about it either on the internet or from their teachers.
Pianist Christian Li, drummer Roberto Giaquinto, saxophonist/leader Matt Halpin, bassist Jared Henderson and guitarist Mike Bono on tour in Ireland.
Also, we made it up to Belfast to record in the BBC radio studios live and to do some interviews. These recordings have been broadcast several times on BBC Northern Ireland as well as on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3. These stations are available throughout England and Ireland.
Berklee in Dublin 2010 closing jam session. Photo by Matt Kavanagh, the Irish Times. (Click on image to read Irish Times story.)
In its second year, Berklee in Dublin drew more than 50 musicians representing 12 countries, including 19 from Ireland and 14 from England, along with students from Norway, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Greece, France, and the U.S. This year’s workshops were held at Newpark Music Centre, a Berklee International Network partner site in Blackrock, Ireland.
Berklee in Dublin students outside the Newpark Music Centre
The Berklee in Dublin “The Art of Improvisation” program kicked off this Monday at our host institution and Berklee International Network partner Newpark Music Centre, located in Blackrock, Ireland, just outside the Dublin city center. Classes started off in full force on Tuesday, with over 50 students from 12 different countries immersing themselves in all things improv.
Greg Badolato of International Programs, along with Berklee faculty Jim Kelly, John McGann, and Ken Zambello, and Newpark faculty member Ronan Guilfoyle, make up the stellar team of instructors for the courses in this week’s workshop.
180 international students from all corners of the globe attended the Five-Week Summer Performance Program this past summer. We first heard from Karen Cowley when she attended the Berklee in Dublin program this past April. Cowley won a scholarship to Five-Week there, and we followed her to get the inside scoop on her experience at Berklee: classes, activities, performances, and adjusting to life in Boston. Enjoy!
Karen Cowley: It’s hard to pick only two top favourite classes. . . .
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