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Press Release

Online Resource Breaks New Ground for Ireland’s Contemporary Music

Contemporary Music Centre to Launch New Web Site, 8 April 2003

Dublin, 8 April 2003

Ireland’s Contemporary Music Centre is to re-launch its web site on 8 April with an array of new features to showcase Irish contemporary music. The new site is to be officially launched by pianist Joanna McGregor at an event in Dublin.

The web site is a groundbreaking resource for Irish music. It aims to deliver the Irish new music scene to the world and demonstrate that Irish artists excel not just in rock and pop, but in contemporary music as well.

From 8 April 2003 the new resource will replace the current site at www.cmc.ie and will feature:

• Comprehensive searching of the Centre’s unique collection of more than 3,000 Irish compositions.
• News updates and a calendar of events.
• Interviews, including video and audio clips, with composers and new music specialists.
• Comprehensive data on each composer, including biographies, work lists, photos and articles.
• Secure shopping facilities for online purchase of Irish contemporary music CDs and publications.
• A special 'Education and Outreach' section for school students and their teachers.

Eve O’Kelly, director of the Contemporary Music Centre, said ‘This is the only specialised collection of 20th and 21st Century Irish music anywhere in the world, and cmc.ie makes it accessible worldwide. Until now, Ireland's contemporary music has remained largely unknown because there hasn't been an information resource like this. We expect the new site to have a major impact on the way the world views and accesses new Irish music.’

Ireland’s Contemporary Music Centre has supported and promoted the work of Irish composers since its foundation in 1986. It represents composers from both the Republic and Northern Ireland and is funded by the Arts Councils of both jurisdictions. CMC’s web site was one of the first Irish arts-based sites when it originally went live in 1995 and it has been used extensively ever since.

This major redevelopment project has been made possible with funding from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The Contemporary Music Centre has worked with New York web design company Some Pig Information Design on its development.

The new site is to be officially launched by acclaimed virtuoso pianist and contemporary music specialist Joanna MacGregor at a function in the Contemporary Music Centre’s Dublin premises on April 8, 2003 at 11.30am.

Further information: Karen Hennessy, Promotion Manager, Contemporary Music Centre, tel: +353-1–673 1922, email mailto:khennessy@cmc.ie

Notes for Editors

Launch Date
Please note that the new site will be officially launched to the public on 8 April but is live at www.cmc.ie from 31 March.

Ireland’s Contemporary Music Centre
The Contemporary Music Centre is Ireland’s national archive and resource centre for new music, supporting the work of composers throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland. The Centre is used nationally and internationally by performers, composers, promoters and members of the public interested in finding out more about music in Ireland. CMC engages in an ongoing programme of development work to promote new Irish music at home and abroad and is a member of the International Association of Music Information Centres.
www.cmc.ie

The Contemporary Music Centre is based in Dublin’s Cultural Quarter, Temple Bar. Located in the heart of the capital city, Temple Bar is home to more than fifty arts and cultural organizations. To find out more, check out the Temple Bar Cultural Calendar.
www.templebar.ie

Joanna MacGregor
Widely considered to be one of the most innovative and wide-ranging of today’s pianists, Joanna MacGregor divides her time between playing classical, jazz and contemporary music. She has performed in over forty countries and has premiered many landmark compositions working with, amongst others, Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, John Adams and Lou Harrison. She has a special interest in Irish contemporary music.
www.soundcircus.com