CMC Welcomes Scholar-in-Residence 2022 Aileen Cahill

CMC’s Scholar-in-Residence programme was initiated in September 2018, with the aim of increasing engagement from musicology students at PhD level with CMC’s unique collection. The first scholar to undertake the role was Orla Shannon. During her CMC residency, Orla curated a vocal catalogue of works for all voice types with piano accompaniment, compiled to showcase the breadth of advanced music for voice that is housed in the CMC collection.

In welcoming CMC’s second Scholar-in-Residence, Aileen Cahill, CMC Director Evonne Ferguson said, 

The pilot of this programme in 2018 was highly successful and CMC is delighted to once again offer a residency to a PhD scholar in the area of new music from the island of Ireland. The CMC team will support Aileen throughout 2022, sharing our expertise and resources as she engages in her research in residence in CMC. CMC looks forward to sharing and disseminating aspects of Aileen’s research through CMC’s website and online channels throughout the months ahead.

Aileen Cahill

A native of county Sligo, Aileen Cahill is a pianist best known as a chamber musician and soloist. In 2007, she completed her Masters in Solo Piano under Dr. John O'Conor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and in 2011, her Masters in Piano Accompaniment under Catherina Lemoni-O'Doherty at the TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama. At this time, she was also awarded a Fellowship Diploma for vocal and instrumental accompaniment from the London College of Music.

Aileen has won many prizes at Irish Feiseanna, as well as at RIAM and DIT festival piano competitions. She has been awarded the Maura Tessier Bursary for Piano and the Anne Leahy Travel Bursary. Aileen has competed internationally in Cantù, Taranto and Val Tidone, Italy. 

Having previously lectured in Piano and Piano Accompaniment at Dundalk IT, Maynooth University and TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, Aileen is now a doctoral candidate at the Conservatory. Her research is an investigation into a collaborative pianist’s use of mental practice in performance preparation.

As part of the residency, I plan to curate a catalogue for chamber music and, in doing so, highlight less familiar works from the CMC’s rich library. In the course of the curation, live and virtual concerts will be programmed to bring this richness to life. Another part of the residency that I greatly look forward to is the typesetting of Ina Boyle’s ‘Phantasy’ for viola and piano. The goal is to perform and record the work with my duo partner, Andreea Banciu. Repertoire for viola and piano is relatively limited, so it is exciting to think that the typesetting of this work will help to expand that somewhat, as well as bring this beautiful music to a wider audience.

- Aileen Cahill