Young composer Anna Rice has been awarded the Bill Whelan International Music Bursary.

Bill Whelan presented Anna Rice, a gifted young Irish composer, with a substantial music bursary at an award ceremony in Dublin this week. Anna is the latest recipient of the Bill Whelan International Music Bursary which was established in 2005 to support Irish music students studying abroad.

The bursary programme, which runs for five years, has already assisted five other students from disciplines ranging from film scoring, orchestration and music composition to continue their studies in the UK, USA and Germany. The bursary scheme is administered with the assistance of The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO).

Anna Rice, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, is beginning to make mark for herself in the film, TV and theatre arenas. She previously studied with former Head of Music at CBS Television, Don Ray and Conrad Pope (orchestrator for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Seabiscuit, The Matrix Revolutions). She was co-writer of the title song for the BBC cartoon series Zombie Hotel and worked as orchestrator on the IFTA winning score for Winter's End. She has also written original scores for RAG Productions' short film The Trip and Wonderlands' stage musical The Seagull After Chekhov. In 1999 Anna was awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, USA. As a freelance violinist she has performed with Sinead O'Connor, Frankie Gavin, Phil Coulter, Brian Kennedy, and the Three Tenors. She commenced a postgraduate Diploma at The Royal College of Music, London in September 2006.

Applications are currently being sought for next year's awards. See Opportunities for further details.

Posted: 13 December 2006