CMC Ireland welcomes 2025 Scholar-in-Residence Laura Sheils
The Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland announces 2025 Scholar-in-Residence Laura Sheils.
CMC’s Scholar-in-Residence programme was initiated in 2018 with the aim of increasing engagement with CMC’s unique collection, supporting further research into New Music from Ireland and facilitating opportunities for cross disciplinary collaborations. Previous scholars have included Dr Orla Shannon, and pianist and doctoral candidate Aileen Cahill.
Laura Sheils's doctoral research focuses on the choral works of contemporary Irish composers Rhona Clarke and Eoghan Desmond, analysing their approaches to text setting and their respective compositional styles. As part of her CMC residency, Laura will present public presentations on her research, write online articles highlighting different aspects of the archive, and curate a new choral catalogue from CMC’s collection.
Responding to news of the residency, Laura said:
I am delighted to be CMC’s Scholar-in-Residence. It is a great opportunity for me to work with the wonderful resources held in the CMC’s collection and to enhance my engagement with Ireland’s current musicological and composition scenes. As part of the residency, I am curating a catalogue of choral music for mixed and upper-voice ensembles by Irish female composers, and in doing so, I hope to highlight the breadth of works available for choirs in CMC’s library.
Welcoming Laura Sheils, CMC’s third Scholar-in-Residence, CMC Director Evonne Ferguson said,
CMC is delighted to offer this residency to composer, educator and PhD candidate Laura Sheils. The CMC team will support Laura throughout her residency, sharing our expertise and resources as she engages in her research here. We look forward to learning from Laura’s own experience and analysis, and to sharing her research with the community.
Laura Sheils
Laura is a PhD researcher, choral composer, and music educator based in Dublin. She completed her undergraduate studies at Mater Dei Institute of Education (Dublin City University), before undertaking an Advanced Diploma in Choral Conducting and Kodály Music Pedagogy at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy in Hungary, and an MA in Choral Studies at DCU. Her choral compositions have been published by Oxford University Press and Cailíno Music Publishers and have been performed by choral groups in Ireland and abroad, broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM, and feature on UCD Choral Scholars’ album James Joyce Chamber Music Vol. I (Signum Records) and St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls’ Choir’s Vox Feminina II.