GLENGORMLEY School of Traditional Music held a very successful weekend of traditional music workshops in Edmund Rice College with over 100 pupils attending intensive classes in their instruments of choice.
The school also wishes to announce the recent receipt of two different Arts Council NI Grants. GSOTM recently received £10,000 from the Arts Councils National Lottery Fund via the Small Grants Programme. They have also received £8,025 from the Arts Councils Exchequers Funds in lieu of a previous unsuccessful application to the Musical Instruments for Performing Groups towards the purchase of musical instruments.
Chairperson Ray Morgan said: "The grants must be used towards the cost of our weekly traditional music classes. GSOTM provides tuition in every traditional instrument and this year we have over 350 pupils attending 37 different classes at varying levels.
"These grants will allows us to concentrate on providing high quality tuition irrespective of class sizes and meet the musical needs of our pupils at all levels.
"We are constantly trying to increase both the quantity and the quality of our stock of musical instruments which we provide to our pupils.
"This grant has allowed us to purchase higher quality Button Accordions, Harps and a set of Practice Uileann Pipes. These are instruments that people often cannot afford to purchase due to their cost and it is great to be able to provide the opportunity to our pupils to access and learn to play instruments that they might not otherwise get the chance."