Artscape/Edited by Gerry Smyth: On Monday of this week, the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen's University Belfast was officially opened by the University's Vice- Chancellor, Prof Sir George Bain, writes Rosita Boland.
Nobel laureate Heaney, a graduate of Queen's, who lectured in the English department there from 1966-1972, was guest of honour at the opening along with his wife, Marie.
It cost £3 million to fund the centre, which will be an international base for research and creative writing, with a particular focus on poetry in modern Ireland. Among the centre's objectives are: the development of big collaborative projects, aimed at attracting external funding; the establishment of an annual programme of lectures and seminars by poets and scholars; and the promotion of links between academic criticism of poetry and the writing of poetry.
In addition, the centre holds a copy of the Seamus Heaney Media Archive; a record of everything the poet has written and presented for radio and television. The archive was produced by Flying Fox films, which was also commissioned to make a film about Heaney's life for the visitors' centre at the recently-restored Bellaghy Bawn.
The centre is also associated with the creative writing programme at the School of English, currently taught by novelist Glenn Patterson, poet Medbh McGuckian and playwright Daragh Carville. Writer in residence, poet Sinead Morrissey, is living in the centre.
Speaking at the opening, Heaney said the establishment of the centre "is a recognition of the epoch-making achievements of the poets, critics and teachers associated with Queen's, represents a bold commitment, an act of faith in the imaginative and intellectual work that has brought repute and respect to the university, and is a proper extension of that work."
Belfast poet Ciaran Carson is the first director of the centre. The post is for a period of up to five years, with the option of extension. Together with his wife Deirdre, Carson, who is also a respected traditional musician, played a hornpipe and two jigs of celebration at the opening: The Blackbird, The Lark on the Strand and Happy to Meet and Sorry to Part.
Voglers wind up in Sligo
The ground-breaking Sligo residency of the Vogler String Quartet comes to an end this year, writes Michael Dervan. And it bows out in style, with a flurry of events highlighting the diversity of activity that has been sparked by the partnership between a major performing ensemble from Berlin and what has for a long time been a musically under-resourced community in the north-west.
The 10 concerts of the Vogler Spring Festival (Friday, April 30th to Monday, May 3rd) include a complete cycle of the string quartets of Béla Bartók as well as a specially-commissioned work from Séoirse Bodley, another composer who has taken inspiration from his native folk tradition.
Before that, the Voglers give their last concert as part of Con Brio's Sligo Music Series. On Friday, March 12th, they will be joined by two Irish musicians, pianist Finghin Collins and double bassist Malachy Robinson for a performance of Schubert's Trout quintet in a programme of typically wide reach that also includes Webern's Slow movement for string quartet, and Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki's Quartet No. 1, an emblematic work of the high 1960s avant-garde. The Penderecki will also be the subject of a free, lunchtime workshop/performance on Wednesday, March 10th.
The Voglers will perform in concert with students from secondary schools (in Teen Theme and Variations on Thursday, March 11th), with children from primary schools (in Magical Musical Minds on Thursday, June 10th, and Friday 11th), and in Quartet, a play by John Kavanagh, presented by the Sligo Institute of Technology Drama Society (Wednesday, May 5th to Saturday 8th). They also appear with ensembles they have tutored from Sligo Academy of Music on Saturday, June 12th.
Since the residency was established in 1999, more than 1,500 children have participated in workshops with the Voglers, and Sligo now has 10 junior string quartets. According to Music Network, which seeded the project that is funded by Sligo County Council, Sligo Borough Council and the Arts Council, "the audience for classical music in Sligo has grown exponentially," as a result of the ensemble's activities.
Speaking at the launch of the Vogler's celebratory programme, Sligo arts officer Mary McAuliffe said, "Although the residency of the Vogler Quartet in Sligo will end in June, its legacy will continue. We now have a successful model of sustainable partnerships at local and national level. Ongoing consultation, research and evaluation have and will secure the learning, consolidate those partnerships and enhance the positive developments for classical music into the future." Back in 1999, Music Network declared a target of establishing seven similar residencies around the country. The expectation at the time was that a brass quintet in Waterford was the project most likely to follow on the Voglers. In the event, the Waterford ensemble has never materialised, though another string quartet, the ConTempo from Romania, is now living and working in Galway as part of a project that involves NUI Galway, TG4 and the Arts Council, with additional funding from Galway City Council and Galway County Council. Imitation, as the saying goes, is the sincerest form of flattery.
Deich mile failte
Street theatre, sacred and secular music, pageants, fiddle playing and brass bands are all part of the festivities to celebrate EU enlargement in 10 towns around the country on May 1st. The Minister for Arts, John O'Donoghue this week announced the individual themes that each town will adopt for the "Day of Welcomes".
Local arts officers, arts organisations and chambers of commerce worked with the embassies of the accession states to devise these themes which, the Minister said, would "add a particular local flavour to welcoming the accession of 10 new countries into the European Union".
The themes for each town are:
Bray (which is linked to Cyprus) - "From Our Shore to your Shore". The themes of sea, beach and coast will provide inspiration for a range of events, including street performances, sculpture and music from both countries.
Cork (Slovakia): "Cooking up Culture" - a programme of events to include street parties, music from Slovak folk groups and food-themed shows in Cork city's English Market.
Drogheda (Latvia): "Fair Days on Fair Street" - Sacred and secular vocal music from choirs from Drogheda and Latvia, as well as family events around the European fair on Fair Street.
Galway (Estonia): "A Time to Sing" - Music and young people will play an important part in the Galway programme, with local school children learning to sing Estonian folk songs and choirs from Estonia and Ireland joining up.
Kilkenny (Lithuania): "Crafting the Future" - Kilkenny's arts and craft heritage meets the ancient history of Lithuania to create a day of celebration through street theatre and art.
Killarney (Czech Republic): "Europe in Colour" - a grand pageant to celebrate the Czech Republic.
Letterkenny (Poland): "- European Melodies" - Donegal fiddlers playing alongside Polish musicians and theatre companies and visual artists from both places working closely together.
Limerick (Slovenia): "Visualising Europe" - Local street-theatre company the Umbrella Project and the Boherbuoy Brass and Reed Band welcome Slovenia. EV+ A art exhibition curated by Zdenka Badovinac from Slovenia, will also include a number of Slovenian artists.
Sligo (Hungary): "Living Literature" - Sligo will be celebrating Hungary's poets, writers and cultural leaders, plus day-long street entertainment.
Waterford (Malta): "Waterford goes Malta" - Waterford Spraoi and other local groups Hullabaloo, the John Robert's Festival and Waterford Youth Drama present a city-wide celebration of Maltese culture.
Further details of the "Day of Welcomes" programmes will be announced at the end of March.
New directions
The Irish Student Drama Association is hosting a forum, Seeking Direction, to attend to the perceived lack of directorial training and development in Ireland. As a first step to broaden the scope of the association, says chairperson Kate McLaughlin, this forum extends the remit of ISDA beyond its annual festival to provide information and incentive to Irish college theatre societies.
Featuring recognised directors such as Patrick Mason, Martin Drury, Jason Byrne, Jimmy Fay and Gavin Quinn, the forum seeks to examine the role of direction in Irish theatre and the lack of supportive training in the sector. It will also investigate styles of direction, such as the interpretive role of Irish directors, as opposed to the more creative roles taken by their mainland European counterparts.
The forum will give students interested in theatre, particularly in direction, the opportunity to hear Irish directors talk about their work and experience. McLaughlin hopes the discussion will provide an insight into how emerging theatre practitioners can develop their directorial skills and techniques, as well as brainstorming solutions to the lack of opportunities and training.
Seeking Direction is open to all interested and takes place at Project next Friday at 3.30 p.m., admission free.
Vote for Chair of Poetry
This week, national newspapers carried ads for the second holder of the Ireland Chair of Poetry; a professorship which carries an annual salary of £25,000, writes Rosita Boland.
The post was established jointly by the Arts Councils north and south; Trinity College Dublin, Queen's University Belfast and University College Dublin, to "celebrate the exceptional contribution of Irish poets to the world of literature". The current holder, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, will complete her three-year tenure in October of this year.
The holder of the post is attached to each of the three universities in turn, one year at a time, and is required to be in residence at each one for about one term per academic year. Unusually, poets and the public are being asked to help in the selection process, by suggesting poets they admire as candidates. All suggestions will be considered by the five bodies involved. This is your chance to get your spake in for a poet you think highly of, and whom you think deserves to be given the prestigious post of Ireland Chair of Poetry.
Address suggestions to chairman Donnell Deeny QC, Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust, 77 Malone Road, Belfast BT9 6AQ or e-mail info@irelandchairofpoetry.org before March 12th.