Sing Out with Strings is an Irish Chamber Orchestra Community Initiative, which began in September 2008, with the aim of supporting children in Limerick’s Regeneration areas. Inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, Sing Out with Strings offers all children involved access to singing, song writing and violin workshops. The program works with following aims in mind:

• To bring music directly into the culture of the school
• To encourage children to develop personally, socially and academically through music
• To give children the opportunity to meet, engage with and learn from professional musicians and artists

Sing Out with Strings works to develop strong musical skills, but with an added emphasis on the transferable skills that can help children in other areas of the curriculum and in their lives as they grow. These include listening and responding, concentration and memory, communication and group co-operation, respect and a strong sense of community. Through workshops, rehearsals and performances, children can explore their abilities as musicians and gain that sense of pure joy and achievement that comes from working and playing together. As Sing Out with Strings enters its third year, there have been some significant achievements:

• The expansion of the programme to include three primary schools in Limerick’s Regeneration areas, serving 297 children aged between 4 – 12.
• A successful collaboration with the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, with the support of the University of Limerick Foundation to provide scholarships for students in MA Classical Strings or MA Community Music. 3 students were selected for this academic year and are currently pursuing their Masters degree, whilst assisting ICO tutors on Sing Out with Strings.
• Concerts in local venues, featuring the Irish Chamber Orchestra and pupils from the Sing Out with Strings programme.
• The provision of live ‘Meet the Musician’ concerts bring children into contact with musicians from a range of genres, including Micheal O’Súilleabháin (Classical and traditional piano), Size 2 Shoes (Pop and Rap), Thomas Johnston (Uilleann Pipes), Ernestine Healy (Concertina), Gentry Morris (American Singer – Song Writer) and others.
• A recording of school songs with String Quartet from Irish Chamber Orchestra
• The development of Galvone School and Community Orchestra, which has performed at the Limerick St Patrick’s Day Parade, the University Concert Hall (pre-concert performance), City Hall as well as other local events. The orchestra currently has 48 members and is growing weekly.
• The provision of violin lessons for pupils and teachers in all three schools, with a view to forming school orchestras in each and feeding into Limerick Children’s Orchestra and the development of a Limerick Youth Orchestra.
• The development of a ‘Young Leaders’ programme, providing extra tuition for children who show particular promise within the school orchestra.

Sing Out with Strings began with seed funding from the Strategic Innovation in Education Fund (Dept. of Lifelong Learning, University of Limerick) and has continued with invaluable ongoing support from Limerick Regeneration, Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP), The Healy Foundation, the JP MacManus Foundation and other private donors.