The inaugural Galway TradFest, a new initiative by Music Generation Galway, will take place across the county from Monday, November 11, to Sunday, November 17.
The inaugural event will feature concerts, masterclasses in music, song and dance, a festival session trail, instrument taster sessions, theatre, and a range of Irish traditional music activities which will give Galway’s young people unparalleled access to high-level musical opportunities.
Organisers say that unlike many other counties, Galway does not host an internationally recognised annual traditional music festival, nor an extensive traditional music masterclass series. They hope that Galway TradFest and its educational programme, named ‘Geata’ (gateway ), will become an annual event which attracts visitors from across Ireland and the world.
“As part of our strategic plans to ensure the best outcomes for Galway’s children and young people where performance music education is concerned, we need to address the fact that when it comes to our Irish traditional arts, all too often too many of Galway’s young performers must travel outside the county to access high-level tuition,” says Eric Cunningham, TradFest’s artistic director.
“With the advent of Galway TradFest and GEATA I envisage that this will change. We are looking forward to hosting a local annual event where Galway’s young people will get to learn from visiting tutors and practitioners and indeed engage at home in Galway with young visiting performers with shared interests.
Tickets and full details on www.galwaytradfest.ie Follow @galwaytradfest on socials.
