Virtual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy 2020

After having to cancel the normal programme due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 48th annual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy materialised virtually from the 6th to the 10th July. The 2020 school was confined to online tuition and did not have the normal complementary menu of recitals, lectures, concerts and céilithe for which SSWC is noted.

However, the online tuition was complemented by an impressive display of online archival material comprising highlights of past recitals from Willie Clancy Weeks over the past four decades. Audiences were introduced to, and reacquainted with, personalities, events and places from past summer schools. The exercise proved to be an enlightening experience for younger people and a nostalgic trip for older attendees. This ambitious project was curated by the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA).

The ITMA Project for SSWC 2020

Coinciding with the week of the virtual school ITMA relayed the concerts and lectures recorded by them of the 2019 summer school. You can see these and the recitals highlights on ITMA's YouTube page. It has also produced a Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy Tribute/Retrospective Documentary which will stream on the same page on the 18th July. This features a broad spectrum of voices on the role of SSWC in Irish traditional culture. And on 17th July viewers will have an opportunity to see highlights from Duchas an Cheoil/The Scope of Irish Music Course which has been an integral component of SSWC since 1986.

In effect, SSWC has a comprehensive online presence in 2020 because the ITMA material came on stream in mid June and continues until late July.

SSWC acknowledges the enthusiasm, dedication and expertise with which the Director and Staff of ITMA delved into their vast archive and selected appropriate video and audio clips to produce an informative and entertaining series of highlights from past summer schools and a reflective tribute to the school and its ethos. They did a first-class job in a tight time frame.

Thanks to Liam O’ Connor, Director ITMA and staff: Grace Toland, Maeve Gebruers, Alan Woods, Brian Doyle, Iarfhlaith Ó Domhnaill, Treasa Harkin, Róisín Conlon and Eileen Doyle. And thanks also to those who were commissioned by ITMA to do the remote filming and preparation of material for parts of this project: Liam O’ Brien, Gerry Hegarty, Sean O’ Malley and Maitiú Ó Casaide.

www.itma.ie

Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy—The 2020 Administrative Team

The 48th summer school was possible because of the dedication and expertise of our tutors and IT team. The administrative staff rose to the challenge and effectively accomplished the tasks on hand.

The school normally has a large administrative /stewarding staff but in these Covid-stricken times we operated with a smaller staff centred around IT expertise. David McDermott established and directed the IT infrastructure which made SSWC 2020 possible and Aideen Comber managed the virtual office. Tony Kearns and Teresa Morrissey kept the information flow on websites and social media, and Marion Brody managed Garda Vetting. The Moderating Team of Teresa Morrissey, Helen Malone, Annmarie Meaney, Róisín O’Sullivan, Lorraine O’ Loughlin, Tara Comber and Paul McGrattan were on stand-by to monitor classes and assist tutors and students. These people enabled a focused learning in a virtual environment.

The 2020 Tutorial Team

The tutorial team came to the Zoom teaching as enthusiastically as if they were in the usual classrooms. They adapted to the new realities. The number of students who took part in the online classes and workshops was in excess of one thousand - a similar number, in fact, to that attending the summer schools of recent years - and the staff and tutors worked hard to ensure that every student was well catered for. Responses from students and parents indicate a high level of satisfaction with tutors and teaching methodologies, and general comments from the traditional music community suggest that SSWC online was a successful experiment. Many thanks to all the tutors who took part in the online tuition programme.

Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy and Na Píobairí Uilleann

SSWC and NPU have cooperated in promoting uilleann piping since 1974. NPU curates the piping classes at the summer school and this year they organised the classes online. NPU staff Fionntan Byrne, Anne-Marie Bell and Clara Gruenfeld monitored the classes, and Archivist Emmett Gill produced the series of NPU photos and videos from the summer school.

The NPU tutors were:

Mikie Smyth, Caoimhín Ó Fearghail, Mickey Dunne, Mick O’Brien, Louise Mulcahy, Gay McKeon, Seán McKeon, Jim Wenham, Brian McNamara, Nollaig Mac Carthaigh, Benedict Koehler.

www.pipers.ie