The Contemporary Music Centre (CMC), Dublin, has announced details of its Irish Composers Project, which will be launched on Tuesday, 24 May 2011 by Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. A joint project between the CMC and An Foras Feasa, a research consortium, in this case made up of the music departments of Dundalk Institute of Technology, NUI Maynooth and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, the project involves the digitisation of scores, recordings and other items relating to Irish composers.

The digitisation of materials for the Irish Composers Project began in 2008 and now features over 3000 scores and more than 1000 recordings – sixty per cent of the Contemporary Music Centre’s catalogue. The digital archive will be available via the CMC’s website at www.cmc.ie/digitalarchive.

Now in its twenty-fifth year, the CMC represents, catalogues and archives the work of over 100 composers born or resident in Ireland. The centre, based on Fishamble Street, in Dublin’s Temple Bar, operates a public library from its premises as well as promoting the work of Irish composers through events, recordings and other channels.

Pictured: a score by Seoirse Bodley, digitised as part of the Irish Composers Project.

www.cmc.ie