The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE Blas International Summer School at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in University of Limerick (UL) is linking up with Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy to offer students an opportunity to extend their immersion in traditional music studies.
Students attending Blas from June 19 to 30 can also enrol in the Dúchas an Cheoil/Scope of Irish Traditional Music course at the Willie Clancy Summer School from July 1 to 9. This collaboration will offer students an accredited programme based at UL and Miltown Malbay.
This initiative will enable students to earn university accreditation worth three undergraduate credits. Students wishing to pursue accreditation will be required to complete both the second week of Blas and the Scope of Irish Traditional Music Course at Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy.
Over the past 40 years, the Willie Clancy Summer School has attracted thousands of students and followers of Irish traditional music from all over the world. On average, 40% of the annual student attendance comes from overseas, with representation from over 30 countries, including the USA, Australia, Japan, Western Europe, Canada, Brazil, the UK and Russia.
The Scope of Irish Traditional Music course has been part of Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy since 1986 and is directed by tutor-co-ordinators Paddy Glackin and Cathal Goan.
The six-day course introduces students to the essentials of Irish traditional music, song and dance and fosters an awareness of the social, cultural and historical context in which the largest part of this musical tradition was created.
The primary focus is on the listening experience and the course is conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, where students interact with masters of the traditional arts.
Many leading traditional singers, dancers and musicians have been guest performers at Dúchas an Cheoil over the years, and the student cohort reflects the international character of Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy.
