Music to their ears

Two young musicians were humming a happy tune this week when they were accepted to study music at UCC.

Amy O’Callaghan and Caoimhe Barry are both long-term members of Music Generation Cork City (MGCC) and will both be studying Music and Geography at UCC next term.

For the last six years, Amy and Caoimhe have been honing their craft at the cornet and trombone respectively and are members of Cork’s Barrack Street Band’s junior and youth bands.

The musically gifted duo also recently took up new responsibilities as apprentice tutors on the MGCC programme. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of MGCC and all the fabulous opportunities given to me over the last six years,” said Caoimhe after receiving the good news.

Both she and Amy credit much of their musical development to the guidance they received from MGCC tutors Shauna McCullough, Clodagh Kearney and Stephen Manning.

The girls have performed all over Cork city at events such as GaelForce, Bold as Brass and countless St Patrick’s Day parades, and more recently have become integral members of Rebel Brass, a 12 piece New Orleans style brass collective that covers soul, pop and jazz classics. Joining with Rebel Brass has proven very rewarding for the girls who have since received regular requests to perform for festivals and civic events and even got the opportunity to entertain President Michael D Higgins and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

Last November the girls had the chance to perform to over one million Irish TV viewers when they appeared on the 2018 Late Late Toy Show.

Since MGCC’s inception in 2013, it has strived to reach, teach and inspire young people to achieve their musical dreams through interactive and inclusive learning. The MGCC programme is based on essential partnerships with local music education providers, such as Cork’s Barrack Street Band, which have local access to areas of the city where there is a distinct lack of music learning opportunities.

MGCC has been able to provide musicians and tutors to these partner programmes, with the expertise to teach and inspire young musicians and offer encouragement and support along the way.

The girls are now eagerly awaiting September when they’ll begin a new chapter on their journeys and take their music studies to the next level.