It was ‘Lights, Camera, Anthem!’ for ten young musicians from Cork ETB’s National Learning Network at Cork City Hall. Their original song ‘Find Your People’ was premiered live on stage at the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) Annual Conference 2023 in September. The song was selected as the winning ETB Anthem by Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, rapper MuRli and RTE’s Ellen Cranitch.
The ETB Anthem Competition was launched in March by Education & Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) to celebrate 10 years since the establishment of Ireland’s ETB's. Music Generation was delighted to work in partnership with ETBI on this creative initiative.
Ten talented rappers/songwriters aged 16-33 years wrote and recorded the winning track ‘Find Your People’. The group are part of the NLN Skills for Life programme. They participated in songwriting and music workshops with The Kabin Studio while writing the song.
NLN Skills for Life in Hollyhill provides a range of training, support and confidence building skills to people who have had an accident, illness, injury or have a disability and extra support needs. The group collaborated to create an anthem that captures the essence of empowerment, inclusivity and lifelong learning within ETB’s, according to the judges.
"It was a joy and an inspiration to see and hear the creative engagement of all the young music-makers who took part in this competition. Well done to the various winners and congratulations also to all at ETBI and Music Generation who made it possible. As a jury member, it was truly uplifting to be involved." Competition judge Bill Whelan, composer of Riverdance
At Cork City Hall, Ellen Cranitch, one of the judges, announced the winners. Paddy Lavelle, the General Secretary of ETBI, presented the award. Conference attendees gave a standing ovation to the young learners for their premiere performance.
On the night, a short video was screened. In the video the young people shared the thrill of recording ‘Find Your People’ at the iconic Windmill Lane Recording Studio earlier in the summer.
Speaking about the experience, NLN Cork learner Megan Collins said
“I found the workshops good because we got to work together and talked about our experiences of finding our people in our training centre. We learnt lots of new skills like teamwork, songwriting and recording music. We were delighted when we won the ETB Anthem competition and the trip to Windmill Lane was so good because it was a great experience, and it was cool to record in the same place as people like Lady Gaga. I felt nervous but excited about our performance in Cork City Hall”
The winning song ‘Find Your People’ will be formally adopted as the anthem of more than 340,000 learners across Ireland’s 16 Education and Training Boards.
Music Generation wishes to thank every young songwriter, singer, rapper, composer and musician who submitted an anthem.
Finally, a massive Congratulations to the ETB Anthem winners from National Learning Network, Hollyhill and their exceptional track 'Find Your People'.
To find out more about:
Windmill Photos by Marc O’Sullivan at Windmill Lane Recording Studios on 18th August 2023.
Cork City Hall Photos by Jim Coughlan at ETB Annual Conference on 28th September 2023
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