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RCYO is an award winning music development project dedicated to promoting participation in music by young people from the age of 10 years upwards, irrespective of geographic location or socio-economic background. It is a partnership project between Roscommon County Arts Office and Roscommon VEC with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland and Roscommon Integrated Development Company.
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| In order to provide equal geographic access to young people, RCYO is organised in a way which has the different sections of the orchestra located in different towns around the county. |
| Currently, Woodwind is located in Boyle, Strings in Roscommon town and Brass in Ballaghaderreen. |
| As a member of RCYO, students receive a paired tuition lesson and group ensemble practice each Sunday. One Sunday each month, all sections come together for a full orchestra rehearsal. |
| RCYO also maintains an Instrument Bank so that students don't initially have to make the outlay of purchasing an instrument in order to become involved. |
| Through RCYO, members also have the opportunity to to take part in national events through the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras, to go to concerts throughout the country and to perform in RCYO's Summer and Winter concerts. |
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| Ways to get involved |
1. Full membership |
This type of membership is available to all young people including complete beginners. By becoming a full member of RCYO, you will have a weekly lesson on your instrument with one of our highly qualified tutors. You will also take part in a ensemble session on the same day as your lesson. Once a month, your ensemble will meet with the other RCYO ensembles to play as a full orchestra. |
What full members can expect - |
- Weekly lesson in pairs or threes with members of a similar standard
- Opportunity to take associated board music exams each year
- Weekly sectional meetings in Roscommon (strings) or Boyle (woodwind)
- Monthly full orchestra meetings alternating between Boyle and Roscommon
- At lease one RCYO concert per year
- Occasional trips to National Concert Hall
- Opportunity to work with highly skilled tutors and conductor
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2. Affiliate membership |
This type of membership is for those who are already taking lessons elsewhere and are grade 4 or higher. By becoming an affiliate member, you will take part in the weekly ensemble session and the monthly full orchestra rehearsals. |
What affiliate members can expect - |
- Weekly ensemble session in Roscommon (strings), Boyle (woodwind) or Ballaghaderreen (brass).
- Monthly full orchestra meetings alternating between the three towns.
- At lease one RCYO concert per year
- Occasional trips to National Concert Hall
- Chance to work with highly skilled tutors and conductors
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| Fees |
Full membership €190 per term (Sept-Dec and Jan-May) |
Affiliate membership €100 per term (Sept-Dec and Jan-May) |
| RCYO Fees are already subsidised by Roscommon County Council, Roscommon VEC and the Arts Council of Ireland. However in some circumstances further reduced rates may be attained for young people's parents who are experiencing financial difficulties. |
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| Get Involved |
| If you would like to join RCYO, please contact RCYO Coordinator Avril Carr at rcyo@ireland.com or 087 9289909. |
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| Background |
| In 2004, Roscommon County Council, Roscommon Partnership Company and Roscommon V.E.C. initiated a Music Development Programme, which aimed to develop participation in music by young people and in the coming years to develop a Youth Orchestra in the county. |
| The first stage in this was a pilot project in primary schools where pupils used descant recorders moving to soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders developing an understanding the workings of an orchestra and developing playing skills that can in turn form the basis for playing more complex instruments. |
| A core concern with the programme was inclusion and equal access, economically, socially and geographically, for all young people throughout the county. As orchestras are divided into four sections – Woodwind, Brass, Strings and Percussion, four ensembles were to be established in different locations around the county, meeting together at intervals to form the larger Roscommon County Youth Orchestra. |
| An instrument bank was established to allow youth orchestra members to borrow their instrument for a period before making the commitment to purchase their own insturment. |
| The Arts Office in partnership with Roscommon VEC launched Phase Two of Roscommon County Youth Orchestra in 2007 establishing the first two centres of tuition - woodwind in Boyle and strings in Roscommon and a third, Brass, following in Ballaghaderreen. |
| There are twelve students on average in each section who each avail of a paired tuition session, ensemble group tuition session, as well as meeting as the full orchestra once a month. Each ensemble meets every Saturday in their respective town except when the full orchestra is meeting together which happens one Saturday each month, the location of which rotates between the different centres. |
| An important aspect of Roscommon County Youth Orchestra is the involvement of parents of the students, whom we rely on to provide a supervisory role one half-day every five weeks. While it’s not a huge commitment, it’s vital to us to ensure the smooth running of the workshops whilst also offering the opportunity for parents to be more involved with their children’s extra curricular interests. |
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