REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICAL OPENING OF THE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC CENTRE’S NEW PREMISE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICAL OPENING OF THE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC CENTRE’S NEW PREMISES IN FISHAMBLE STREET
Cuireann sé áthas ar mo chroí bheith anseo libh inniu agus tá mé buíoch díbh as an chuireadh agus an fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
Thank you for your wonderful welcome! I am delighted to join you this evening to open these beautiful new premises and also to mark the occasion with the launch of the Centre’s new CD, Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume Three. I would like to thank Director Eve O’ Kelly for the kind invitation.
The inspired restoration of this building has truly been a labour of love and great thanks is due to the Contemporary Music Society who, with the able assistance of Temple Bar Properties and the Dublin Civic Trust, have preserved the layout and character of the building while at the same time providing facilities that meet the needs of a sophisticated twenty-first century clientele. With its high tech facilities, spacious and welcoming library and the wealth of materials and information within easy access to those involved in the music industry and to the public, this centre will surely be one of the most advanced international music information centres – a new centre of musical gravity.
This is a night of celebration for everyone who has worked hard to make the dream of a home for the Contemporary Music Centre a reality and I am sure that this fine premises have lived up to and indeed probably surpass all expectations. It is of course more than a building. It is a statement about the future, the shape of that future and the value you have placed on securing a real home at last for composers and new music in Ireland.
Today, we in Ireland are experiencing an era of unparalleled prosperity and cultural buoyancy. The reach of Irish music is global, indeed it has become something of a phenomenon in recent years. It is thanks to the talent of the country’s composers, performers, publishers and producers that music from Ireland has become such a success story. It is a tribute to the remarkable talent of our Irish musicians that their work finds a ready market abroad and Irish composers and performers are in constant demand overseas in recorded form and for live performances.
I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the Contemporary Music Centre on the tremendous support you provide to advance the work of composers from every county in Ireland. Your work ensures that anyone who is interested in Irish music can readily find a rich store of information and advice. Not only do you provide an excellent service for your professional clients but you also deserve much thanks for your work in promoting new Irish music abroad through your ongoing programmes of activity. I would also like to acknowledge the tremendous support and assistance you receive from An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council Northern Ireland. Their generous funding enables you to promote our artists on the international stage so that the work of Irish composers and musicians can reach a world wide audience.
This occasion also marks the launch of the Centre’s CD, Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume Three which is a sort of ‘musical calling card’ for new music in Ireland and will no doubt be enjoyed by a national and international audience.
It is most appropriate that this Centre should relocate to Fishamble Street, a street with many strong musical associations, particularly famous because it was the site for the first performance of Handel’s Messiah. I hope that Ireland’s richly talented composers are spurred to greater achievements knowing that Handel himself must have walked on this street his head full of music scores on his way to rehearsals!
We in Ireland are happy to cherish the past recognising it as a treasure and a resource, as a unique part of our heritage, because we know that is not in any way incompatible with being modern, forward-looking nation. We are proud of our music heritage and traditions and are delighted that this new music centre will be the repository of our musical history and in the vanguard in promoting our present day Irish composers.
I congratulate the Contemporary Music Centre on this important day, and I welcome the support given to them in this venture by The Arts Council, Temple Bar Properties and the Dublin Civic Trust. Finally, I would like to say a very special thank you to the Board of Directors and particularly Eve O’Kelly for all her fidelity to contemporary music and her hard work in bringing this project to fruition.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.