Academy of Music, Tullamore celebrating eight new diploma graduates

Published: Sun 28 Aug 2022, 5:52 PM

Last updated: Sun 28 Aug 2022, 7:14 PM

The Academy of Music have announced eight new diploma graduates, all students of piano and voice/singing.

This year, after much patience and perseverance, the students, after completing all of their music exam grades, decided to progress further to the diploma programmes.

Stacey Buckley, Nikki Burke, Melissa Hogan, Maya Carni, Edel Bracken, Claire Hendy, Clive Burge and Aideen Scally were all awarded honours diplomas.

Congratulations to Aideen Scally, Fvcm, Hons of Moate, who was awarded Honours in her Fellowship Diploma in Voice/Singing from the London Victoria College of Music. Aideen is a student of Ciaran Brady.

Congratulations to Clive Burge, Fvcm, Hons, of Streamstown, who was awarded Honours in his Fellowship Diploma in Voice/Singing from the London Victoria College of Music. Clive is a student of Ciaran Brady.

This means the students are all fully qualified in their instruments and have been conferred with the post-nominal initials for the various levels of their progression within the programme: Diploma, Associate, Licentiate and finally Fellowship (DipVCM, AVCM, LVCM and FVCM).

Ciarán Brady, director, The Academy of Music, Tullamore, said the benefits include developing music appreciation and cultivating creativity, and there is increased personal discipline and confidence; the learning also cognitively benefits spelling, IQ and mathematical skills by requiring the use of almost every part of the brain (especially in children); it increases memory capability; amplifies emotional perception; speeds up reaction times; increases social skills, reduces stress and develops patience and perseverance.

The academy specialise in performance education through its music examination programme in association with the Royal Irish Academy of Music Graded System and its Diploma Programmes in association with the London Victoria College of Music.

The academy premises is also a local centre for both the Royal Irish Academy and the London Victoria College of Music, meaning that all graded and diploma examinations take place there, and the examining bodies send independent examiners at exam time.

Diploma students, as well as performance examinations, undergo certain levels of music theory qualifications in their studies to satisfy the criteria of the required level of ‘Theory of Music’, which assures a good standard of diploma and shapes their overall quality of musicianship.

For more details and images visit www.theacademyofmusic.ie.