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The RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet founded its Scholarship Fund in order to
assist and enhance the studies of Ireland's most gifted young musicians
in the difficult stage between being outstanding students and fully fledged
concert artists, specifically in the area of chamber music.
The Quartet launched the Fund with a sponsored weekend performance of
the complete Beethoven Quartets in Cork in April 1996; it has since been
augmented by further fund-raising concerts given both by the Quartet and
by past beneficiaries of the Fund, and by private donations.
At present the principal beneficiary of the Fund is the Young Musicians
Platform of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. Started along with the
Festival itself in 1996, the Young Musician's Platform offers an invaluable
experience for Ireland's most talented young musicians in the form of chamber
music masterclasses in the stimulating and inspiring context
of the Festival.
Each year students are invited to Bantry to form chamber groups - be
it string quartets, piano trios or wind quintets - and in the charged atmosphere
of the Festival they work together under the guidance of the Festival Artists
and of dedicated coaches. in addition to the tuition they receive, the
students have free access to all the Festival concerts as well as the opportunity
for informal consultation with visiting Artists. Their week culminates
in performances on the main Festival stage, all of which are broadcast
by RTE. Guest coaches at the Festival masterclasses have
included Siegmund Nissel and Martin Lovett (Amadeus Quartet), Valentin Berlinsky
(Borodin Quartet), Milan Skampa (Smetana Quartet), David Ehrlich (Audubon
Quartet) and Sawa Kazuki (Sawa Quartet).
The Fund is administered on a voluntary basis and is held under the
auspices of the Cork Orchestral Society, a registered charity. Donations
are welcome. For further information, please E-mail
us or write to:
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Vanbrugh House
Castle Treasure
Douglas
Co Cork
Ireland
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