Editor: Keith Davis Writers: Alex Dippold, Dave Maley Publisher: Office of Public Information Volume 22, No. 5   October 18, 1999

Irish World Music Centre University of Limerick

Scholarship Fund for Exchange Program Announced at Whalen Center Opening The recent opening of the James J. Whalen Center for Music featured not only a celebration for the new home of the Ithaca College School of Music but also the announcement of a scholarship fund linking the school with the University of Limerick in Ireland. Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor, the newly established Whalen Music Scholarship Fund will provide full scholarships for Ithaca students to attend the university’s Irish World Music Centre. A graduate school offering performance and academic courses in music and dance, the center has a special interest in research and innovation in Irish and Irish-related music worldwide. It is directed by Mícheál O Súilleabháin, a noted composer, pianist, and ethno-musicologist. A similar fund has also been created at the University of Limerick so that its students can study at the Ithaca College School of Music. In addition, an annual concert will be held alternately in Ithaca and Limerick. The concert will feature students and faculty members from each institution. The formal exchange program is the result of a relationship that president emeritus James J. Whalen began a number of years ago with the University of Limerick. In 1996 O Súilleabháin spent several days on the Ithaca campus giving lectures, workshops, and performances, and a year later the Ithaca College Wind Ensemble performed at the University of Limerick during a tour of Great Britain and Ireland. O Súilleabháin was also a surprise guest performer at the Whalen Center opening.

Created by Andrejs Ozolins. Updated 2 Nov 1999