Matheson has awarded three bursaries to students of the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) as part of a strand of student supports sponsored by the firm.

Launched in 2022, the partnership supports RIAM’s 'Holistic Programme', which equips musicians at the RIAM with a wide-ranging set of skills to help them to thrive in the music world.

As part of the partnership, Matheson funds three student awards annually, with this year's winners including:

• Martina Rosaria O'Connell (RIAM MMus Student, recipient of the Environmental Creative Project Award),
• Adam Buttimer (RIAM BMus student, recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Creative Project Award), and
• Laoise McMullin (RIAM MMus student, recipient of the Music Composition Award).

Ballybough project

Martina Rosario O’Connell commissioned a piece of music from composer Laura Shiels that formed the basis of a project in which 150 young people from St Vincent's DEIS school in Ballybough, Dublin 1, worked together to add a rhythmical accompaniment and musically make their own, child-friendly musical composition.

Adam Buttimer's free summer camp for neuro-diverse children, adults and their families was held over a three-day period, and offered concerts and participatory experiences with classical music in an autism-friendly environment.

Laoise McMullin, with support from her mentor, composer Michael Fleming, created a new signature tune for Matheson, and a fanfare for the official opening of the RIAM’s state-of-the-art Whyte Recital Hall on 12 October 2023.

Business skills

Congratulating the winners, Michael Jackson (Matheson managing partner) said that the partnership represented “a unique opportunity to foster interaction between Matheson’s commercial expertise and the artistic endeavours of the RIAM’s gifted musicians”.

“We hope that this partnership will continue to empower students to harness their creativity while growing the business skills needed to thrive in their professional careers,” he added.

RIAM Director Deborah Kelleher said that its graduates were entering a working environment that would require them to adopt “flexible and market-focused skills, using their creativity to forge sustainable and healthy careers in a rapidly changing world”.