The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) is delighted to welcome Ecclesiastical Insurance, part of the Benefact Group as the lead corporate partner of RIAM’s new programme Play it Forward – Expanding Music Access.
At RIAM we live in music and believe that music is for everyone regardless of their background, ability, age or gender, and we are committed to broadening access to exceptional music education.
Play it Forward - Expanding Music Access is a new initiative supporting young people aged 9 -14 through free instrumental tuition and access to musical instruments. Delivered on the RIAM campus through our Junior Academy, it fosters the next generation of musicians in an inclusive, high-performance learning environment.
Play it Forward was developed through the integration of Strings Attached (an existing programme delivered in partnership with four DEIS schools providing music tuition to students from socio-economically disadvantaged communities) and a new programme in partnership with Dublin Youth Choir offering members of the choir the opportunity to study instruments chosen for both musical need and progression potential.
Through the integration of these two programmes, RIAM has created a unified and expandable access pathway for young musicians, offering 26 junior students full 3-year scholarships with free tuition and instrument access.
Having previously supported a Co-Creative project in 2025, Sounding the Hidden at the National Library of Ireland, we are delighted that Ecclesiastical Insurance has come on board again, this time to support this new project for a three year period, through a second Movement for Good partnership grant. They join our other corporate partners on the project, Gore and Grimes Solicitors LLP.
To learn more about how your business can partner with RIAM on impactful music education initiatives, please contact John McEvoy, RIAM Head of Development, at [email protected].
Photo: Deborah Kelleher, Director RIAM and Scott Hayes, Head of Relationship Management Ecclesiastical Insurance with some of the participants on Play it Forward.