STAFF

Bob Seward

Founder and Director of the Academy, Bob retired with the rank of Captain from the Irish Army, he was then appointed Regional Manager of the Rehabilitation Institute for Cork and Kerry where he was involved in development in the region.

Bob has been involved in music all his life. He established the Academy in 1994 with the aim of giving people who would be considered marginalised, early school leavers etc, the opportunity of learning music to a qualification standard so that they may gain employment in the music industry or progress to further education.

Bob has been awarded the Cork City Council gold medal and citation, a level 2 award from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, an Ulster Bank Business Achievers Award as well as an All Ireland Inspirational Life award which was presented by President Mary McAleese.

Clare Seymour - Project Coordinator

Clare has been working at CAM since 1995 and has many years of experience in all aspects of the organisation. Clare was involved in developing the Academy’s ‘Back To Education Initiative’, in which she coordinated programmes for young people considered to be ‘at risk’ and people with disabilities. In 2009 Clare played a key role in developing and coordinating the Knocknaheeny Youth Music Initiative which is now in its second year. She is currently in the third year of a degree course in UCC which will lead to a professional qualification in youth and community work.

Oliver C. Keane - B.Mus Piano, Music Theory

Oliver is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Boston and has been teaching at the Cork Academy for 10 years. He is the principal teacher since 2002. Having played throughout the U.S. and Europe, and with over 25 album recordings to his credit, he brings valuable experience to the Academy while also being a noted performer in his own right.

Lawrence O'Donnell - M.Mus Piano, Music Theory

Lawrence came to the Academy as a student in 1997 and progressed to U.C.C. after completing the foundation and access course. He returned to the Cork Academy in 2003 as its vice principal, while completing his masters. Lawrence has a history of musicmaking with many ensembles and brings his own experiences as a composer to the students at the Academy.

Rachel Healy - BA(Hons) H.Dip

Rachel graduated from UCC in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and An Leann Duchais. She received a Higher Diploma in Ethnomusicology from Queens University Belfast in 1995 and worked as a tutor in West African Drumming at the University’s Ethnomusicology Department from 1995 to 1998. While livin in Belfast, Rachel was employed by the mobile community arts project Wheelworks (under the Umbrella of Voluntary Service Belfast) as part of a team of community artists who over summer months spent one week in each of the most disadvantaged communities of Belfast working with young people on art and music projects. Wheelworks was nominated for the AIB Better Ireland Award in 1996. Since her return to Cork, Rachel has worked with mainstream and Special Needs pre schools bringing music to children with disabilities varying from slight to profound intellectual and physical disability. At present Rachel is Vocal and Performance coach with Cork Academy of Music’s Knocknaheeny Youth Music Initiative.

Patrick Barrett - B.A.(Hons)

Pat began is a musical education as a student at Cork Academy. He then went on to study at Leeds College of Music. He returned as a teacher in 2000, and is currently assistant coordinator of the Academy’s Youth Music Initiative in Knocknaheeny, providing tuition in Music theory, bass guitar/double bass and ensemble.

Mick Hackett - Guitar

Mick is a former student of the Cork Academy of Music and is now a registered guitar teacher with the Cork V.E.C. First introduced to the guitar by the renowned Cork singer songwriter John Spillane in 1989, he then went on to complete formal training in classical theory at the Academy. Mick, is an experienced tutor and has worked with many adult and youth organisations.

Garry McCarthy - BA MBS

Garry McCarthy (aka GMC) is a music technology tutor with a focus on youth workshops. Having a first class honours degree in multimedia, as well as years of experience as a hip hop recording artist and producer, Garry focuses on helping others to be creative, and always urges young people to express themselves lyrically and musically. Garry has also worked on a wide range of hip hop/rapping projects with primary school kids, teenagers and people with special needs and some of the work can be found at www.gmcbeats.com/workshops

Carolyn Goodwin - B.Mus M.A. (saxophone/piano)

Originally from Cork, Carolyn studied a performance degree in classical saxophone at Cork School of Music under Kenneth Edge. After graduating with a first class honours degree in 2005, Carolyn went on to spend the next three years as the saxophonist with Bill Whelan's Riverdance, with which she toured the Far East, Canada, North and South America and Europe.

Since her return to Cork in 2008, Carolyn broadened her musical education further through her completion of an MA in ethnomusicology at University College Cork, where her research topic was the role of formal musical education and its impacts on the professional musicians based in the city. As a recipient of a scholarship, she also had a assistant lecturing post at the university.

Along with her current role as a tutor at Cork Academy of Music, Carolyn continues to work as a freelance musician in classical, jazz and popular music genres.

Cian Walsh - B.Mus

Cian is from Ballycotton, Co. Cork. Growing up in a musical household he began taking piano lessons at six years of age. A self-taught guitarist from the age of twelve he also began composing his own songs around this time. While attending secondary school at the CBS Midleton, he started his first band at the age of fourteen. Cian went on to study a Bachelors Degree in Music at the Cork School of Music with classical guitar as his primary instrument. On completing the degree Cian took up teaching positions at the Cork Academy of Music and the Togher Music School. In 2010 Cian took up a position at the Knocknaheney Youth Initiative where he gives a song writing class and classical guitar tuition. He is currently a songwriter and performer with his band Toy Soldier.

Board of Management

Pat Nolan – Chairman
Robert Seward – Hon. Sec / Development Officer
Brendan McGuire – Treasurer

Members

Gerry Foley
Brian Cahalane
Tony Duggan
Tom Mac Sweeney
Evelyn Grant