Junior RIAM students Matthew Whyte (trombone) and Iris Mot Diez (saxophone) were declared winners of the Dr. Marie McCormack Bursary for Wind, Brass and Percussion.
After a tough preliminary round during the day, there were six finalists chosen to claim the two separate bursaries of €1,000 awarded at the discretion of the jury to exceptional performances from Junior RIAM wind, brass or percussion students.
Other finalists were Thibaud Empey (percussion), Zoe Yu (flute), Nayan Levy (trumpet), and Michael MacCanna (clarinet)
Thanks to our performers Christina Troup (french horn) and Simon Carey (clairnet) who performed for the audience during the jury deliberation. Our jury consisted of Brendan Bresiln, Head of Junior, Adult and Lifelong Learning, RIAM, Ross Lyness, Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion, RIAM, and Sinead Frost, Principal Bassoonist, Irish National Opera
Dr. Marie McCormack B.Sc., DipHE, Ph.D., is an alumna of University College Dublin, the University of California, San Francisco and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr McCormack worked as an early pioneer in the use of Electron Microscopy to identify cellular carcinogenic and human immunodeficiency virus infections. The competition is generously sponsored by Helen and Christopher McCormack, both former RIAM students, in their mother’s name in recognition of her passion for music and support of young people.