Opportunity for Schools: 2025 Waltons RTÉ lyric fm Music for Schools Competition

2025 Waltons RTÉ lyric fm Music for Schools Competition
Closing date: 12 February 2025 at 5pm

Waltons New School of Music and RTÉ lyric fm are delighted to announce the 2025 Waltons RTÉ lyric fm Music for Schools Competition!

About the Competition

Founded in 2012, the Waltons RTÉ lyric fm Music for Schools Competition is a non-profit national event celebrating and supporting music in Irish schools.

All primary and post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to enter the Competition, and schools from all 26 counties have participated in previous years.

The Competition’s objective is to promote the enormous benefits of creative music making for young people. Its open nature offers schools the opportunity to think and work creatively in any genre (or genres) of music and with any combination of students, developing an original musical project that has learning potential at every stage of the process.

Each year’s Competition culminates in a gala Finalists Concert in the National Concert Hall, in which twelve Finalist school music groups (six primary and six post-primary) perform before their peers and a panel of distinguished adjudicators. The entire concert is streamed live by RTÉ lyric fm and can be watched from anywhere in Ireland or around the world.

At the end of the Finalists Concert, the adjudicators announce six winning groups (three primary and three post-primary), which receive trophies and awards totalling €7,000 worth of vouchers for musical instruments and equipment from Waltons Music Ireland for their schools, including two First Prizes of €2,000 vouchers, two Second Prizes of €1,000 vouchers and two Third Prizes of €500 vouchers.

How It Works

1. Primary and post-primary schools put together instrumental, vocal or mixed student music groups (between 10 and 40 performers), which create ensemble pieces or songs that respond in some way to the year’s Competition theme. A group can be made up of any combination of singers or instrumentalists you choose. And this year’s theme is The Key of Life.
2. Schools submit an online entry form and send a video of the group’s performance as well as a jpeg photograph of the group.
3. The initial entries are judged by a team of first-round adjudicators, and twelve Finalist groups (six primary and six post-primary) are selected.
4. The Finalists are announced on RTÉ lyric fm. Groups not selected as Finalists but displaying real merit are designated as either Commended or Highly Commended. Certificates are produced for the schools and all student performers, and the groups are listed on the Waltons New School of Music website. Finalists’ entry videos are added to the Music for Schools Competition YouTube channel.
5. The twelve Finalist groups perform in a gala Finalists Concert at the National Concert Hall. Their performances are assessed by a panel of distinguished adjudicators, who announce the six winning groups at the end of the concert. Finalists Concert videos are later added to the Music for Schools Competition YouTube channel, and both videos and photos are added to the Waltons New School of Music website.

2025 Competition Calendar:

Wednesday, 12 February 2025, 5 pm
Deadline for schools to submit their entries.

Friday, 28 February 2025
The twelve Finalist schools are announced on RTÉ lyric fm.

Monday, 24 March 2025
Finalists Concert

For more information and entry forms, go to newschool.ie/musicforschools.