North county Dublin is a beautiful coastal region, close to the capital city, boasting an abundance of agricultural and historical sites. Now, it is home to Ireland’s newest, most innovative entertainment venue, The Lark, which is at the heart of the Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS). As Ireland’s only purpose-built music education campus, the aim is to add music to the region’s identity and welcome visitors from Ireland and abroad.
The IIMS is a not-for-profit, music organisation that provides unique experiences and programmes to individuals, communities, and businesses.
The campus consists of a music academy, Bedford House luxury accommodation, student accommodation, music degree/masters courses, music wellness retreats, La La Café and Restaurant, and The Lark, a 400-seat venue, all on-site together.
Michael T Dawson is CEO of IIMS, which he co-founded and it started in his own home nearly 15 years ago. “The IIMS grew out of a music school that I set up in 2009 called the Fingal Academy of Music,” Michael explains.
conductor
“It actually began in my parent’s house and the shed outside. Then it expanded to rooms around Fingal in community centres. The goal was and still is, to increase access to quality music education, provide inspiring musical experiences and to connect Ireland with the world. Until we set up the school, you had to travel a long distance in north county Dublin to gain access to any music education.
“In Ireland, 94% of music education is private. Schools provide a very small amount as they often don’t have the resources to do so. People tend to go to private music schools, but thats usually dependant on whether there are musicians in a local community.
“And then, your quality of education and access to it depends on the amount of money you have and if you’re located in an area with a music teacher. These are all factors that affect music education.
“It’s disappointing that music education is so difficult to access here as music is one of the biggest things we export and are renowned for internationally. Comhaltas, which promotes traditional music and culture around the world, is amazing, of course, but again accessibility to groups in the country can be an issue.”
Michael Dawson is an award-winning conductor and educator. He returned to Ireland in 2019 from the University of Southern California, where he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and teaching assistantship to pursue a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Choral Music.
Prior to moving to the US, he taught at the National University of Ireland Maynooth where he established the Maynooth University Chamber Choir as one of the top performing ensembles in Ireland, who he toured the
world with and in 2015, he also became the first Irish conductor to win the Pavarotti Trophy at the “Choir of the World” International competition at the Llangollen Eisteddfod.
Michael is passionate about putting north county Dublin on the map as Ireland’s top musical region and to provide education to anyone who wants to learn. “I wanted to try make a music school that is economically viable, sustainable and allows the school to stay alive for hundreds of years,” he says.
Grants and finanical support
“We want to make sure if we get grants or financial support from donors that it all goes back into the organisation towards our mission. One of the big parts of it working is creating an ecosystem to allow us to provide services to children, organisations, everyone.
“The Lark is the newest addition to IIMS. It allows us to bring artists into the region and by bringing live music and arts, it changes the landscape of this region. Gavin James recently spent a week here, Phil Coulter, and the Wexford Festival of Opera used it as a rehearsal space.
“We programme content ourselves. We really want to have a wide variety in our programme for adults and children, covering all genres, different styles and diversity. We are trying to create a music campus that is truly inclusive, that anyone can walk on campus and feel at home. We will do our best to do that, no matter where someone is from, that it is there for everyone.
“It will be a few years before we see the full impact in the area, for the people and hundreds of schools in north county Dublin. It will hopefully be normal for people to go to a concert hall, and we will be known as the most musical region in the country.”
What’s On
5-30 December: Beauty & the Beast Panto starringJake Carter as The Beast
18 December: IIMS Christmas Choral Gala 13 January: Rebecca Storm21 January: Mary Black 25 January: Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Mary Coughlan
9 February: Paul Brady17 February: Ennio Morricone Experience 22 February: The Amy Winehouse Band29 February: Roddy Doyle – The Five Lamps Read more
Meet Ultan Conlon: the singer-songwriter at home in east Galway
County Sound: the old road is still calling for Armagh’s John Glenn
North county Dublin is a beautiful coastal region, close to the capital city, boasting an abundance of agricultural and historical sites. Now, it is home to Ireland’s newest, most innovative entertainment venue, The Lark, which is at the heart of the Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS). As Ireland’s only purpose-built music education campus, the aim is to add music to the region’s identity and welcome visitors from Ireland and abroad.
The IIMS is a not-for-profit, music organisation that provides unique experiences and programmes to individuals, communities, and businesses.
The campus consists of a music academy, Bedford House luxury accommodation, student accommodation, music degree/masters courses, music wellness retreats, La La Café and Restaurant, and The Lark, a 400-seat venue, all on-site together.
Michael T Dawson is CEO of IIMS, which he co-founded and it started in his own home nearly 15 years ago. “The IIMS grew out of a music school that I set up in 2009 called the Fingal Academy of Music,” Michael explains.
conductor
“It actually began in my parent’s house and the shed outside. Then it expanded to rooms around Fingal in community centres. The goal was and still is, to increase access to quality music education, provide inspiring musical experiences and to connect Ireland with the world. Until we set up the school, you had to travel a long distance in north county Dublin to gain access to any music education.
“In Ireland, 94% of music education is private. Schools provide a very small amount as they often don’t have the resources to do so. People tend to go to private music schools, but thats usually dependant on whether there are musicians in a local community.
“And then, your quality of education and access to it depends on the amount of money you have and if you’re located in an area with a music teacher. These are all factors that affect music education.
“It’s disappointing that music education is so difficult to access here as music is one of the biggest things we export and are renowned for internationally. Comhaltas, which promotes traditional music and culture around the world, is amazing, of course, but again accessibility to groups in the country can be an issue.”
Michael Dawson is an award-winning conductor and educator. He returned to Ireland in 2019 from the University of Southern California, where he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and teaching assistantship to pursue a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Choral Music.
Prior to moving to the US, he taught at the National University of Ireland Maynooth where he established the Maynooth University Chamber Choir as one of the top performing ensembles in Ireland, who he toured the
world with and in 2015, he also became the first Irish conductor to win the Pavarotti Trophy at the “Choir of the World” International competition at the Llangollen Eisteddfod.
Michael is passionate about putting north county Dublin on the map as Ireland’s top musical region and to provide education to anyone who wants to learn. “I wanted to try make a music school that is economically viable, sustainable and allows the school to stay alive for hundreds of years,” he says.
Grants and finanical support
“We want to make sure if we get grants or financial support from donors that it all goes back into the organisation towards our mission. One of the big parts of it working is creating an ecosystem to allow us to provide services to children, organisations, everyone.
“The Lark is the newest addition to IIMS. It allows us to bring artists into the region and by bringing live music and arts, it changes the landscape of this region. Gavin James recently spent a week here, Phil Coulter, and the Wexford Festival of Opera used it as a rehearsal space.
“We programme content ourselves. We really want to have a wide variety in our programme for adults and children, covering all genres, different styles and diversity. We are trying to create a music campus that is truly inclusive, that anyone can walk on campus and feel at home. We will do our best to do that, no matter where someone is from, that it is there for everyone.
“It will be a few years before we see the full impact in the area, for the people and hundreds of schools in north county Dublin. It will hopefully be normal for people to go to a concert hall, and we will be known as the most musical region in the country.”
What’s On
5-30 December: Beauty & the Beast Panto starringJake Carter as The Beast
18 December: IIMS Christmas Choral Gala 13 January: Rebecca Storm21 January: Mary Black 25 January: Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Mary Coughlan
9 February: Paul Brady17 February: Ennio Morricone Experience 22 February: The Amy Winehouse Band29 February: Roddy Doyle – The Five Lamps Read more
Meet Ultan Conlon: the singer-songwriter at home in east Galway
County Sound: the old road is still calling for Armagh’s John Glenn
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: