BVOF | RIAM John Pollard Bursary
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival and the Royal Irish Academy of Music have announced a transformative new music prize to support the studies of two master's students every year at Ireland's National Music Conservatoire
The largest bursary of its kind in Ireland, each year the BVOF | RIAM John Pollard Bursary will select one vocal studies student and one instrumental student to each receive €24,000 over two years. This new award will assist each winner to complete their two-year Master in Music Performance programme at the RIAM.
The award is open to vocal and instrumental students worldwide who apply to study on the Masters in Music Performance programme at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, with a particular focus on applications from tenor/countertenors for the vocal award. Recipients will be chosen through their RIAM audition to receive the award, which will be provided as €12,000 in Year 1 and €12,000 in Year 2.
Soprano Abigail LaDuke and pianist Ella Nagy were the first recipients of the Bursary and are currently in the second year of their Masters Programme. Tenors Seán Testor and Rory Lynch are the 2023/24 recipients of the Bursary and are currently in the first year of their Masters Programme.
“We are thrilled to partner with BVOF and the John Pollard Foundation to offer this astonishingly generous bursary to some truly talented and remarkable musicians. The award opens the doors of the RIAM to students across the globe, who may not otherwise have the means to study at Ireland’s oldest conservatoire, right in the heart of Dublin.” – Deborah Kelleher, RIAM Director
More information on how to apply and audition requirements can be found on riam.ie/apply. Applications for MMus will be automatically considered for this award. There is no separate application process.
To find out more about the Bursary recipients click here.