THE University of York has recently become something of a focal point for young Irish composers. At present there are four Irish postgraduates working at masters and doctoral level there. York is considered by many to be the leading UK university for new music and the Head of Music, Professor Nicola LeFanu is one of Britain's most distinguished composers and teachers. The concentration of Irish students there is in part due to LeFanu's reputation as a teacher, but there are other connections as well. Nicola LeFanu's late mother, the composer Elizabeth Maconchy, was Irish and Professor LeFanu has taught at the Ennis/IMRO Composition Summer School in Ireland.

The first Irish student to enrol as a doctoral candidate at the University of York was Gráinne Mulvey from Carlow. Her struggles to finance her expensive three-year course led the Contemporary Music Centre to seek funding to make it easier for others to follow in her footsteps. With the generous assistance of the Arts Council, the Elizabeth Maconchy Composition Fellowship was set up in 1996 at the instigation of CMC and with the support of York University, and the inaugural Fellow, Marian Ingoldsby from Carrick-on-Suir, is now pursuing doctoral studies there. With two Irish students sending good reports home on the grapevine, others followed: Gerard Power from Waterford, also on the doctoral programme, and Ailís Ní Riain, a graduate of University College Cork, undertaking a master's course.

For Marian Ingoldsby, the transition to the life of a full-time postgraduate student, following several years as a third level teacher in the music departments of Waterford Institute of Technology and University College Cork, was not easy. With an established reputation as a composer before she went to York, and a number of major commissions behind her, she has gradually become accustomed to quite a different lifestyle. 'I'm happy now, but I did find it very difficult to adjust at first. Having so much time to compose took a lot of getting used to, although now I wonder how I ever managed to compose anything before. I used to sneak in an hour here and an hour there but I constantly felt as if I were cutting corners.' She works on her own most of the time, but has a session with tutor Nicola LeFanu every two weeks. 'She's a very stimulating teacher. A lot is left up to yourself, but she presents you with choices and she has a great eye. She can look at a piece you've written and straight away make suggestions about what you could do. I suppose you could say that she's the reason I wanted to come to York in the first place.' And does she feel that studying in York is bringing about changes in her music? 'It's not so much a change of actual style as a change in my approach to my music. The last piece I wrote, Walking on Water (for flute, violin, cello and piano), was a new departure for me because I was thinking purely about the structure and the overall plan the whole time I was writing it, which is something I haven't always done in the past.' She views the music she is currently working on -- a chamber orchestra piece for a workshop with the Northern Sinfonia -- as a continuation of this new approach. 'It's great to have the opportunity to be able to try out new things: new techniques, different styles. Before, I always had deadlines or some sort of pressure with commissions which meant that I couldn't change my mind or revise things very easily.' She also enjoys being able to sit in on lectures taking place in the department: a recent course in contemporary music theatre with Roger Marsh, for instance. 'The facilities at York are great. From the point of view of resources, the department is very well equipped and there are so many concerts taking place. It's a great opportunity to be exposed to many different styles of music.'

Gráinne Mulvey, on the other hand, is now coming to the end of her time in York. 'I'd definitely recommend York to any composer. It's a great environment to work in and the atmosphere is very conducive to music-making. The standard of performance here is extremely high and most of the performers are very willing to play contemporary music; they're not afraid to be challenged.' She feels that her own musical style has become more focused during her time at York and says that this would not have happened if she had stayed in Ireland. 'I think my recent piece for chamber orchestra, Woburn Struggles On (1996), really marks a turning point for me and I hope that my next piece (another orchestral work) will continue to reflect this change of style.' She recently completed her electronic work, Soundscape (1996), for violin, cello, percussion and tape, which was written after attending a composition course at Schwaz in Austria in the summer of 1996.

Mulvey is delighted to see the recent influx of Irish composers at York: 'I think it's very healthy and I'm very glad to see it. It's nice not to be the only Irish composer in the department. I just wish that similar opportunities and resources were available at home.' And how does she see her future? Will it be based here or in England? 'I like Ireland and I would definitely like to come back and base myself here, but I also think it's important for me to keep in touch with what's going on in England and not lose the contacts I have made over there. Ideally, I'd like to move between the two places.'