Articles

A Virtual Home Away From Home

Ian Kilroy — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:10:22 PDT

Emigration and media: “Staying in touch with home while living abroad has never been simpler, but does it make the emigration experience any easier? Emigrants and immigrants discuss the challenges of keeping up with home while living abroad.”

“Are The Study Habits of First Year Undergraduate Students Influenced By Where They Live While Attending College?”

Robert Martin Morris — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 08:40:21 PST

Abstract

This study was carried out in the Dublin Institute of Technology with the co-operation of four experienced lecturers of engineering and fifty first year undergraduate engineering students.

The main aim of the research was to establish if living away from the family home influences the study habits of first year undergraduate students.

Many causes of attrition in first year are identified in the research. For this research project the four experienced lecturers were interviewed to capture their views and experiences of the study and learning habits of first year students. The data gathered in conjunction with my own personal experiences, and knowledge gathered from the research literature on the subject, served to guide and inform the selection of the questions which were used in a subsequent student survey.

The analysis of the data gathered provides a detailed insight into the views of the engineering lecturers and the factors which represent barriers to the first year students study and learning. This chapter focuses specifically on the relationship between the students’ living arrangements and their study habits.

New Tools in Improvised Music Performance.

Seán Mac Erlaine — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 08:40:20 PST

This paper looks at the synthesis of computer technology and instrumental practice in improvised music performance. The emerging field of performers who use real-time signal processing as a technological extension of their instrument is discussed. How do new tools affect musical practice? Does the use of computers impose an associated aesthetic?

A number of key players are scrutinised including Evan Parker, La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Jon Hassell, Miles Davis, Pauline Oliveros, David Behrman. The research provides a historical context to these practices and explores how pre- and post-digital technologies have shaped their work.

This article identifies an innovative and emergent area of performance practice which builds on historical developments in electroacoustic music and more recent advances in the music technology industry.

The general nature of tools – their design, suitability and application is discussed. The place of technology in contemporary society as a “vital and dynamic link between human imagination and reality,” is seen as an agent in the creation of new artwork.[1] However, the oft-held notion that artistic invention follows technological break throughs is challenged and it is argued that these two factors are co-dependent and inform each other.

[1] F. Richard Moore, ‘A Technological Approach to Music’ in Companion to Contemporary Musical Thought: Volume 1, John Paytner, Tim Howell, Richard Orton and Peter Seymour (eds.), (London: Routledge, 1992), 329.

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Kevin Volans

Adrian Smith — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:19:01 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on Kevin Volans

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Gráinne Mulvey

Adrian Smith — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:16:47 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Gráinne Mulvey

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: John McLachlan

Adrian Smith — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:14:35 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer John McLachlan

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Royal Hospital Kilmainham

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:53:29 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Royal Hospital Kilmainham

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Point Theatre

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:28:25 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Point Theatre

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Jonathan Nangle

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:02:42 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Jonathan Nangle

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Crash Ensemble

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:30:12 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Crash Ensemble

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Rob Canning

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:24:40 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Rob Canning

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Michael Holohan

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:54:26 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Michael Holohan

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Deirdre Gribbin

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:52:30 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Deirdre Gribbin

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland: Siobhán Cleary

Adrian Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:50:13 PST

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Siobhán Cleary

The Honourable Tradition of Non-Existence: Issues of Irish identity in the music and writings of Raymond Deane.

Adrian Smith — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:17:10 PST

In the past, the question of Irish identity when put to the composer Raymond Deane would perhaps have drawn forth an avowed resistance to the very concept. As a young man Deane developed a firmly atheistic frame of mind combined with a rebellious streak which left little room for latent nationalist sympathies or the pietistic doctrines of the Catholic Church. His subsequent early career reflected these inclinations with Deane firmly aligning himself with the ideals of European modernism and taking up residence in Germany where he found the liberal environment more in keeping with his secularist outlook. Nevertheless the marginalised position of contemporary art music in Irish cultural discourse continued to elicit impassioned writings from the composer decrying the fact that the achievements of Irish composers went frequently unnoticed. Many of his criticisms reflect his own identification with certain conflicts, particularly those which characterise the relationship between the composer of art music and Irish society at large. Indeed as this essay will argue, it is this recurring theme in his writings ‘the marginalisation of Irish composers in society’, which offers the most illuminating path towards gaining a sense of Deane’s own Irish identity. The discussion which follows will therefore focus mainly on those writings where his opinions have been most forcefully articulated. As this theme has continually evolved, it will be necessary to take a chronological approach, charting the circumstances from his youth to more recent times which have prompted modifications of, and reversals from, previously held views. The most significant of these was undoubtedly a revision of his once firmly anti-nationalist stance in relation to Northern Ireland and the wider issue of international conflict, a development which greatly influenced his writings on the reception of Irish art music. His recent writings have also revealed a more sympathetic response towards previous generations of Irish composers. In particular his essay ‘Exploding the Continuum: The Utopia of Unbroken Tradition’ articulates an identification on the part of the composer with historical Irish figures whose experimentation would seem to possess something in common with his own distinctive strategies of formal estrangement. This aspect of his writings raises further questions regarding the notion of ‘tradition’ and casts an alternative perspective on the history of Irish art music.

Wieniawski's Daughter: Portrait of a Lady

David Mooney — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:58:05 PST

Poldowski (1879-1932) was the pseudonym adopted by Irene Wieniawska (later Lady Irene dean Paul), composer, pianist and daughter of the celebrated violinist, Wieniawski. This paper aims to paint a portrait of this enigmatic lady, through an examination of her many roles as daughter, mother, wife, performer, composer and writer. As a well-established musical figure in Great Britain, Belgium, France and the United States during her professional life, like many other female composers, she disappeared from view after her early death. Possessed of a true ‘artistic temperament’, her colourful life – of which details are quite scant – provides a backdrop for a discussion of her compositions, mostly French songs, the majority of which are settings of the poetry of Verlaine. Her professional career attests to a busy concert schedule, both as a performer and composer. Her social connections opened many doors of opportunity and her charismatic personality allowed her to count among her close friends, some of the leading figures of musical and cultural life on both sides of the Atlantic. Her works are currently enjoying a revival and are beginning to be re-established, along with her reputation, as a woman of talent.

Poldowski Rediscovered

David Mooney — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:12:49 PST

This is a brief magazine article, commissioned to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the death of Poldowski. It contains a biographical sketch and a description of compositions.