Music Generation Development Officers Appointed in Galway County and Wexford

Photo: Cormac McMahon / Galway 2020.

Together with Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board (GRETB) and Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB), Music Generation is delighted to announce the appointments of Ruth Gordon and Katherine Atkinson as Music Generation Development Officers for Music Generation Galway County and Music Generation Wexford respectively.

In their new posts, Ruth and Katherine will have responsibility for developing and managing affordable and accessible local performance music education programmes for children and young people ages 0 to 18. This will include the coordination of music tuition services within the counties, working in partnership with schools, community music groups and arts services in the formation of choirs, ensembles and performance initiatives across diverse musical genres and styles.

Ruth takes up her new role following 10+ years working in the fields of arts administration, production, marketing, publicity, and project management throughout Ireland. She has held roles in Cork, Galway and Dublin with companies including Macnas, Dublin Theatre Festival, Galway Arts Festival, Baboró International Arts Festival for Children and, most recently, as a theatre producer with Fíbín Theatre Company. Ruth is a graduate of UCC, holding a BAMus with Irish, and she also studied Music, Management and Sound in Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Cork.

Originally from Australia, Katherine Atkinson is an arts consultant, musician and performer who managed youth arts and arts development for the Arts Council of South Australia before moving to Ireland in the early 1990s. Prior to her appointment at Music Generation Wexford Katherine worked with Create – the national development agency for collaborative arts – where she had responsibility for public art commissions, European projects, training, events and programme development, including management of the Arts Council’s Artist in the Community Scheme and the Extending Architecture training and professional development initiative. Katherine holds an MA in Public Culture Studies from Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, a Diploma in Theatre and Drama Studies from NUI Maynooth and a Certificate of Music TAFE South Australia.

Galway County and Wexford are two of the nine new areas of Ireland selected for participation in Music Generation’s second phase (2017 – 2021). ‘Phase 2’ was made possible as a result of philanthropic donations by U2 and The Ireland Funds, as well as through the commitments of the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships to co-fund the initiatives on a long-term, lasting basis. Galway City and Roscommon MEPs, led by GRETB, and Waterford MEP, led by WWETB, are three of the other areas to be included in the programme roll-out over the next four years.

Locally, Music Generation Galway County is managed by Galway County MEP, led by GRETB in partnership with Galway County Arts Office. Music Generation Wexford is managed locally by Wexford MEP, led by WWETB in partnership with Wexford County Council.

//ENDS

Music Generation Galway County:
Contact Ruth Gordon, Music Generation Development Officer, Music Generation Galway County
T: +353 91 874557 / E: ruth.gordon [at] gretb.ie

Music Generation Wexford:
Contact Katherine Atkinson, Music Generation Development Officer, Music Generation Wexford
T: +353 53 912 3799 Ext 126 / E: katherineatkinson [at] wwetb.ie