Irish arts institutions like to make a fuss about the low proportion of funding they get from the public purse. Yet Ensemble Modern generates 70 per cent of its budget from concert income, and only around 15 per cent from funding institutions.

It's one of a handful of organisations selected as a "beacon" by the Bundeskulturstiftung, the Federal Cultural Foundation, set up in Halle by the German Government in 2002. This foundation uses its budget of around €40 million to give support beyond that provided by the federal states.

The Bundeskulturstiftung's extra €450,000 five-year special project funding for Ensemble Modern is also an important national badge of honour - the foundation wants to "distinguish cultural beacons which represent the spectrum of contemporary art production in an exemplary manner". The ensemble is devoting half of this year's award to the International Ensemble Modern Academy, and 60 per cent of that will go directly to provide scholarships.