Photo by Leo Byrne
Adam Buttimer (Tuba, BMus Yr4 ) was announced as the 2024 winner of the RDS Music Bursary. The €15,000 RDS Music Bursary is one of the largest annual classical music awards in Ireland and Europe, and includes a performance opportunity with the National Symphony Orchestra, and a recital at the Centre Culturel Irlandais. Adam qualified for the bursary by winning the Senior Brass Recital in this year’s Feis Ceoil
RIAM Wind, Brass & Percussion alum Ben Gannon (2021, oboe) also took home the RDS Jago Award and a €5,000 prize.
David Collins, Head of Wind, Brass & Percussion at RIAM said "I was delighted to see Adam win the 2024 RDS Bursary along with the €15,000 prize. Adam is both a superb musician and a great personality! He is involved in so many aspects across RIAM from his solo performances and work with Banshee Brass (RIAM Brass Quintet), to leading neurodivergent-friendly workshops for young people. I am excited to see what the next few years will hold for Adam at the outset of his career and for the tuba to take centre stage for change! A special mention also to Ben Gannon, RIAM BMus oboe graduate from 2021 who took home the Jago €5,000 award. It's fantastic to see continued investment from the RDS in the future of young musical talents in Ireland and their financial support is transformative to the careers of these young musicians."
Tubist Adam Buttimer is in his fourth year of the BMus performance degree at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, studying with Francis Magee and Steve Irvine. He studied with Petri Keskitalo at the Sibelius Academy, where performances included a Janacek sinfonietta and project with Austrian new music ensemble Klangforum Wien. In 2022, Adam performed Vaughan William’s Concerto for Bass Tuba with Trinity College Orchestra. He was a finalist in the Dublin Brass Week Yamaha Concerto competition in 2023. Adam won the Audrey Chisolm award in 2023. He is a previous winner of the ChamberFest Dblin prize and recently performed at West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival.
In 2023 Adam was a co-founder of Banshee Brass, a multi-cultural brass quintet based in Dublin that debuted at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and recently recorded in Windmill Lane and performed in the Whyte Recital Hall. Members include Erick Castillo (Trumpet 1) Aoife Garry (Trumpet 2) Anastasia Despotis (Horn) Casey Trowel (Trombone) and Adam Buttimer (Tuba).