Rock ‘n’ Roll kids sign up to first Academy of Pop

MEET the country’s next popstars who have signed up for classes in Ireland’s very own school of rock.

The corridors of the CIT Cork School of Music (CSM), which normally resound to the sounds of Bach and Beethoven, are set to rock and roll from September with the opening of a rock and pop school — the Academy of Popular Music.

Developed in association with the CSM, it will offer graded tuition on Saturdays to budding rock and pop stars in popular singing, keyboard, electric guitar, bass and drums.

It is aimed at students aged between 12 and 18, and each 50-minute lesson will be delivered to classes of just five pupils.

Music theory classes will be included and students will sit a certified exam at the end of the year.

All the senior tutors are MA graduates of the 130-year-old CSM and have experience in the pop music industry.

Academy director Brendan Manning said he decided to set up the school following the success of TV shows like The X Factor, and the commonplace nature of pop music tuition in Britain and USA.

“Our students will be given the opportunity to learn the instruments and music they love, and play in rock and pop bands in our ensemble classes — all in a proper graded environment,” he said.

“Just as for students studying jazz, Irish traditional or classical music, the tuition will give them the skills both to achieve and to maximise the enjoyment they can reap from their endeavours.”

CSM director Dr Geoffrey Spratt, the “development of the Academy of Popular Music in association with the CIT Cork School of Music is most welcome and I wish it every success,” he said.

“It will provide that magic combination of technical instruction, oral training and ensemble experience for these young people.”

* Enrolments are being taken at tel: [phone] or www.theacademyofpopularmusic.ie.