Winner of Bank of Ireland Catherine Judge Memorial Award 2015 is announced

20 April 2015

Mairead Hickey, a pupil of CIT Cork School of Music, was presented with the Bank of Ireland Catherine Judge Memorial Award on Saturday 18th April 2015, following a live final held in the Great Hall at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Professor Fiona Palmer, Professor of Music at Maynooth University, who chaired the Bank of Ireland Catherine Judge Memorial Award judging panel, made the presentation after she and her fellow judges heard Elgars performance of La Capricieuse Opus 17 before an audience of over 100 people.

Fellow judges included Colm Carey, Belfast City Organist and Colin Stark, a principal player in the Ulster Orchestra. The event was compered by Mark Carruthers OBE of BBC Northern Ireland.

Mairead will receive a bursary of £5000 towards their musical studies and, for the first time in the history of the award, their school CIT Cork School of Music will also receive £1000.

The award, which is now in its ninth year, is presented annually to an exceptional solo classical musician who wishes to pursue a third-­‐level music education. The award was created as a lasting tribute to Catherine Judge, an employee of Bank of Ireland, who passed away in August 2005. Catherine had a great love of music and loved to see young people get opportunities to grow and develop.

Chair of the Judging Panel Professor Fiona Palmer said: “The Catherine Judge Memorial Award is a fantastic opportunity for young musicians to showcase their talent and dedication. I thoroughly enjoy getting to see the wealth of musical talent there is from students across the island of Ireland. On behalf of the judging panel I would like to congratulate Mairead on her win and wish her all the best with her future studies and career.”

Sean Sheehan, Regional Director, NI Consumer & Small Business, Bank of Ireland UK said: “I would like to thank the nine finalists who took part in today’s event for their outstanding performances; they are all incredibly talented musicians. Congratulations to Mairead on her winning recital which had us all captivated this afternoon and we look forward to hearing more of her musical success in the future.”

ENDS

For further information about the Catherine Judge Memorial Award, visit www.boicjma.com.

For media enquiries contact:

Catherine Agnew, Smarts Communicate, Tel: 02890 395500/ mobile 07779101360

Ends

Notes to editors

The nine finalists performed the following pieces of music:

THE FINALISTS

Calvin Davison (Voice)

‘Revenge, Timotheus Cries’: George Frideric Handel (1685–‐1759)

Lavender Pond: Michael Head (1900–‐1976)

Mairéad Hickey (Violin)

La Capricieuse Opus 17: Edward Elgar (1857–‐1934)

Violin Sonata No 1 in F minor Opus 80. 2ndmovement: Sergei Prokofiev (1891–‐1953)

Matthew Quinn (Voice)

‘Dein blaues auge ‘(‘Your blue eyes’): Johannes Brahms (1833–‐1897)

‘Vainement ma bien–aimée ‘(‘In vain, mybeloved’): Édouard Lalo (1823–‐1892)

Easter from Five Mystical Songs: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–‐1958)

Katelyn Egan (Piano)

Fantaisie: Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–‐1767)

Prelude in E minor: Frédérick Chopin (1810–‐49)

Prelude No 1 in C from Book 1 of ’48 Preludes and Fugues’: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–‐ 1750)

Presto from Sonata in G: Benedetto Marcello (1686–‐1739)

Robert Harrison (Clarinet)

Prelude from Five Bagatelles: Gerald Finzi (1901–1956)

Paguera from Two Majorcan Pieces: Joseph Horovitz (born 1926)

En Bateau from Petite Suite: Claude Debussy (1862–1916)

No. 5 from Dance Preludes: Witold Lutoslawski (1913–1994)

Phoebe White (Violin)

La Fontaine d’Arethuse, Opus 20: Karol Szymanowski (1882–‐1937)

Introduction and Tarantella, Opus 43: Pablo de Sarasate (1844–‐1908)

Christopher Ellis (Cello)

Prelude from 3rd Cello Suite: J.S Bach (1685–‐1750)

Adagio and Allegro: Robert Schumann (1810–‐1856)

Zoe Jackson (Voice)

‘Se tum’ami‘(‘If you love me’): Giovanni Pergolesi (1710–‐1736)

Nachtlied (Night song): Robert Schumann (1810–‐1856)

‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ (‘Oh My Beloved Father’): Giacomo Puccini (1858–‐1924)

‘Sure on this shining night’: Samuel Barber (1910–‐1981)

Conor Smyth–Small (Piano)

Sonata No 5 in C Minor, Opus 10, No 1, 2nd and 3rd movements: Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770–‐1827)

PHOTO CAPTION

Mairead Hickey a pupil of CIT Cork School of Music was presented with the Bank of Ireland Catherine Judge Memorial Award on Saturday 18th April, 2015 following a live final held in the Great Hall at Queen’s University, Belfast. Pictured at the presentation is from left: Sean Sheehan, Regional Director, NI Consumer & Small Business, Bank of Ireland UK and Fiona Palmer, Professor of Music at Maynooth University who chaired the Bank of Ireland Catherine Judge Memorial Award judging panel. Mairead performed a recital of Elgars performance of La Capricieuse Opus 17 before and audience of over 100 people at the event.