WhistleBlast Composition Programme is a project for Secondary Schools students age 11 to 24 years old from all backgrounds; mixed and single genre groups, inclusive of mainstream and disabled students to work with acclaimed musicians to devise, create and present a new work with regional performances and a grand finale performance in a national venue.
The programme consists of live WhistleBlast Quartet performances, ensemble rehearsals and one to one tuition with students inclusive of all abilities with traditional, classical, choral, and percussion sections created. Any genre of music can be explored. Quartet performances include a huge range of familiar and new repertoire and facilitate up to 100 students at each concert, bringing engaging, accessible live music into your school.
The Composition workshops can include up to 30 core group students and kick off with research of a chosen topic. For example, last year’s topic ‘Good News!’ was chosen by the students through pre-project meetings with all participating groups. The topic of the 2022 programme was 'Stand Up and Deliver!' and the one for 2021 was ‘Let’s Laugh’.
During Covid, the students of Dominican College, Galway and Ceol na Mara Youth Orchestra created this wonderful video single Then We’ll Meet Again. Watch it here!
Workshops, facilitated over a number of days timetabled with participating groups, include rehearsals, experimental creation, group learning and playing, song and instrumental composition, performance, score writing and instrumental skills.
The students take ownership of their own artistic creation from initiating the topic to developing musical material. Each group has created their own unique section and the Quartet combines all these original compositions into an inclusive performance featuring all the participants. The entire work is scored by Ken Edge as an artefact of the collaborative process.
Our fully accessible and online ‘Let’s Laugh’ programme is available in our gallery with tons of videos guiding you step by step through the process of composing your own piece of music.
The 2024 Composition Programme brought together mainstream students and students with additional needs from schools in Mayo, Dublin, Galway and Tralee, and Limerick’s Ceol na Mara Youth Orchestra to create and perform their own original compositions.
The grand finale performance ‘Turn it Around!’ in Black Box Theatre, Galway, was the culmination of four months of workshops and concerts.
The 2022 Composition Programme was rolled out with special needs and mainstream Secondary Schools in counties Dublin, Galway, Kerry, and Mayo plus Limerick’s Ceol na Mara Youth Orchestra.
We had a fabulous regional composition program performance with secondary and special needs students in axis Ballymun, Dublin and a Grand Finale concert in the Black Box Theatre, Galway. See videos below!
2022 Regional composition program performance with secondary and special needs students in axis Ballymun, Dublin.
Grand Finale performance Composition Programme 2022 ‘Stand Up and Deliver!’ in Black Box Theatre, Galway.
During Covid we continued our Composition Programme online, providing video tutorials and online meetings. With great results! See below for the 2021 ‘Then we’ll meet again’ composition and ‘Laugh it all off’ from 2020.
We have lots more videos over on our YouTube channel. Make sure to check out the Quartet online recordings of student remote compositions on our channel here.
Students from Dominican College and Ceol na Mara Youth Orchestra perform their own composition ‘Then we’ll meet again’.
Mercy Mounthawk, Tralee composes and creates their own performance during Covid; ‘Laugh It All Off!’.
Mary talking about the Composition Programme in Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School in Tralee, Co. Kerry.
Testimonial
“As we are a school for pupils with special needs, many of whom also have autism, it is fantastic for us to be able to offer such a positive, creative, and joyful sensory experience to our pupils. This is an opportunity for them to engage socially and emotionally with the wider school and local community, through a medium that they love. They have thoroughly enjoyed all sessions. We have particularly appreciated the inclusion of the junior school pupils through the mini concerts. The concerts have also facilitated many older pupils who would find it difficult to engage with the workshops but who still love music.
The concerts and workshops have beautifully extended and supplemented our own music programme in the school. It is a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to be immersed in the full sensory experience of a live performance. Many of our pupils would find it too difficult to attend a concert in the wider community.
Senior students have appreciated the close contact and hands on opportunity to develop their own creative abilities during the follow-on workshops. These have challenged, provoked and fulfilled their development as budding musicians and composers. Staff have learned a lot about supporting musical composition from their own participation in these sessions. It is not just the pupils who benefit!
Working towards a public concert in tandem with other local schools also gives our pupils a sense of achievement and builds pride and confidence in themselves and their abilities. They are very excited about linking with other local schools and showing what they can do during a public performance.
Finally, may I commend you on the level of communication and organisation of the programme between yourself and the school. It has been excellent. We really appreciate your level of interest in our pupils and the ‘can do’ attitude you bring to suggestions or sudden changes.”
Deputy Principal, St. Joseph’s Special School, Galway