Six exceptional musicians awarded BBC NI & Arts Council NI Young Musicians’ Platform Awards

These prestigious biennial awards, aim to showcase and support the development of exceptional young musicians from Northern Ireland by providing funding awards, worth up to £5000 each, to solo musicians and singers/singer-songwriters in classical, jazz, contemporary and traditional music, who are ready to enter the professional world as artists. This financial award enables recipients to develop their musical aspirations by spending a sizeable amount of time learning from a master musician, mentor, teacher or composer either in Northern Ireland or abroad.

In addition to this training opportunity, each recipient will benefit from professional engagements arranged by BBC Northern Ireland for a broadcast chamber music/solo recital and/or concerto performance including with the Ulster Orchestra where appropriate. Performances at this level raise not only the professional profile of the young musician but also gives a boost to their performance experience.

Highlighting BBC Radio Ulster and Foyle’s commitment to specialist music and developing new musical talent, four presenters from the station will mentor the young awardees, follow their progress on their programmes and help them prepare for performances with the Ulster Orchestra for live broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster. John Toal, a classical pianist and presenter of Classical Connections will mentor the classical awardees; Folk Club presenter, Neil Martin, will mentor the traditional awardee who will be given the opportunity to perform at Belfast Tradfest; Scott Flanigan, jazz musician will mentor the jazz awardee, who will perform at Scott’s Jazz Club, and Stephen McCauley, presenter of The Stephen McCauley Show, will mentor the singer-songwriter awardee, who will perform at Stendhal Festival.

Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music and Opera, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented:

“Congratulations to all six awardees. We are proud to partner with BBC NI to support this scheme thanks to game-changing funding from The National Lottery and BBC NI. We want to provide meaningful opportunities for our most exceptional young artists to develop their musical careers, and the NI Young Musicians’ Platform Award offers a valuable opportunity to do that. Awardees can develop their skills, learn from the best in their genre, and receive professional performance experience with the BBC. All of the previous awardees have gone on to have successful, professional musical careers and we wish the current cohort of awardees every success as they embark upon this opportunity.”

Paul McClean, Executive Editor Music, Arts and Events, BBC Northern Ireland, said:

“We truly believe that BBC Radio Ulster and Foyle is ‘Where Music Matters’ and we are dedicated to providing our listeners with the best in specialist music. Nurturing new talent is something we are extremely passionate about and we are delighted to be involved in finding new classical, alternative, jazz and traditional artists. Being able to have our listeners engage in these young musicians’ journey will be incredible to watch as they grow and develop with some help from our mentors."

Previous recipients of the Young Musicians’ Platform Award include acclaimed classical pianist, Michael McHale, soprano, Laura Sheerin, harpist, Richard Allen, violinist, Michael Trainor; folk artists, Jack Warnock, Conor Mallon and Niall Hanna; singer-songwriter Roisin Donald/Roe; and jazz musicians, Ed Dunlop and Katherine Timoney, among others.

As part of the NI Young Musicians’ Platform Award, the three classical awardees, Rosie Murphy, Samuel Kane and Zoë Jackson, will perform in a BBC Invitation Concert with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Stephen Bell, on Thursday 20th March in the iconic Belfast Cathedral. Tickets will be released soon and are free but must be booked at 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/

 For more information on Arts Council of Northern Ireland funding opportunities visit www.artscouncil-ni.org/funding

About the awardees.

Maeve O'Donnell

Maeve O’Donnell is an established and up-and-coming uilleann piper and tin whistle player. She originally hails from Co Donegal. Moving to Tyrone at the age of twelve, Maeve began learning Irish Traditional Music.

Her talent quickly flourished learning at Armagh Piper's Club where she received countless opportunities to perform. After relocating to Belfast to pursue a Primary Teaching degree specialised in Music at St Mary’s University College, she became a prominent figure in the city’s vibrant traditional music scene. She has collaborated with the Duncairn Arts Centre and is a regular performer in Belfast’s renowned session scene. In 2023, Maeve was honoured with the Belfast City Council’s Gradam Ceoil Bursary Award, providing her with the opportunity to focus on recordings, performances, and collaborations.

Maeve’s achievements in competition include winning the All-Ireland Uilleann Pipes Fleadh Cheoil in 2015 and securing first place in the Instrumental section of Scór na nÓg in 2016, representing Donaghmore GAA. Her career has taken her across Ireland, Europe, and the United States, where she has performed, toured, and taught workshops extensively.

In recent years, she has toured with the acclaimed Celtic Thunder across North America and Canada. She has performed with the internationally celebrated Irish dance show Rhythm of the Dance in 2024. A standout moment in her career was her performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in March 2023, where she represented St Mary’s University College at the Nashville City Irish Fest, sharing the stage with the renowned Willis Clan and other emerging artists.

Maeve has also made her mark as a recording artist, contributing to several albums, most notably the latest Na Píobairí Uilleann release, Mná na bPíob Uilleann, which celebrates the artistry of female uilleann pipers. With her deep-rooted passion for traditional music and a growing list of accolades, Maeve O’Donnell continues to captivate audiences worldwide, bringing the soul of Irish music to new heights.

Zoë Jackson

Irish soprano Zoë Jackson studied at the University of Manchester, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. She was a member of the Northern Ireland Opera Studio in the 2019/20 season and was recently named Young Opera Voice of 2024by Northern Ireland Opera, winning the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize.

Zoë has performed a range of operatic roles, including Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Vivien Savory (The Enchantress), Sāvitri (Sāvitri). In 2025, she will make her role debut as Nedda in Pagliacci with Rose Opera.

As a Rose Opera Young Artist, Zoë has performed in their Rose Opera in Recital series and as a soloist in concerts such as A Celebration of Ukrainian Song and Great Opera Composers in Song. She also appeared in their production of Tosca as the Shepherd and was the soprano soloist in Der Hirt auf dem Felsen by Schubert.

Zoë was part of the inaugural Virtuoso & Belcanto Opera Festival in Lucca, where she performed Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. She later returned to Italy perform in productions of Suor Angelica at Teatro del Giglio in Lucca and Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna. She has also worked with companies including Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, Northern Ireland Opera, and The Opera Shack.

In concert, Zoë has performed works such as Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Fauré’s Requiem, and Duruflé’s Requiem. She has also collaborated with ensembles such as Sestina and has appeared as a soloist in choral society concerts across the UK and Ireland.

Samuel Kane

Sam Kane is a violinist and composer with a strong connection to traditional Irish music. He recently graduated with distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), where he studied violin with Cecily Ward, supported by the Irish Heritage Homan Potterton Bursary for Strings and Help Musicians Postgraduate Awards.

Sam was a finalist in the RNCM’s Gold Medal Competition and received the Norman George Violin Prize. He was leader of the Ulster Youth Orchestra and later led the RNCM Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, playing Bruch’s Violin Concerto no.1, and has freelanced with ensembles including the Ulster Orchestra, NI Opera, and Camerata Ireland, touring China with the latter. He has appeared at festivals across the UK and Ireland, including Clandeboye, Charles Wood, Enys, Blackwater Valley Opera, Belfast International, Mourne Chamber Music Festival, and Harp Ireland. In 2025, he will be Artist in Residence at Barrow Classical Music Foundation.

Sam was awarded the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Rushworth Composition Prize in 2023, and recently had his new work ‘Danu’s Rhapsody’ performed by Ensemble 10:10 conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. He has written for ensembles including the Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, who selected him as a Featured Young Artist for their 2023/24 Season. Sam has performed his music has been at venues such as Wigmore Hall, Leighton House, and St James’ Palace, London, and one of his works for soprano and orchestra was broadcast on Classic FM. He also had lessons with Caroline Shaw at the Stauffer Centre for Strings, Cremona.

Sam enjoys working across different musical styles and has collaborated with pianist Ruth McGinley on BBC Radio Ulster’s Classical Connections. He is also a member of NOMAD, a contemporary music group based in Manchester. He plays on a Vincenzo Panormo violin (c. 1800-10), generously on loan from the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.

Becky McNeice

Becky McNeice is an alternative pop artist and producer from Belfast, blending electronic sounds with pop vocals and sad lyrics. She is set to release her first EP after the success of her latest track “All My Love” at the end of 2024. The EP is set to include a number of exciting Irish collaborations.

Rosie Murphy

Rosie Murphy is a classically trained harpist and composer, graduating from The Hague Royal Conservatory in 2024. Passionate about new music, Rosie is a Britten Pears Young-Artist for composition and performance, collaborating with international composers and premiering their new works for 2024/2025. During the Britten Pears residency, Rosie gave a harp composition workshop alongside composers Colin Matthews and Mark-Anthony Turnage and is currently preparing to premiere six new works at The Alderburgh Festival this coming June with the Britten Pears Chamber Orchestra.

Focusing on her career as a soloist and performer, Rosie made her concerto debut, performing Handel’s harp concerto with IYBO, performing in The National Concert Hall, Dublin in 2023. Rosie has performed recitals in venues such as Aras an Uachtarain, The Irish Embassy of The Netherlands, No. 10 Downing Street, Queen's University and for live radio on ‘Radio West’ in The Hague and Harp Ireland’s Harp day Gala concert.

As the Featured Young Artist for the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble for 2023/2024, Rosie performed regular contemporary ensemble concerts and live premiered pieces by Belfast composer, Greg Caffrey. In 2024, Rosie collaborated with Dr. Saad Haddad of Columbia University on a contemporary piece for harp in Arab Maqamatic tuning, premiering it at a recital in The Hague in May. In 2022, Rosie completed a Music Network emerging-artist residency, composing and performing a new work for harp and flute, premiering it on Culture Night in Dublin. In 2021, for 21 Artists-for-the 21st century, Rosie composed music based on Irish mythology, recording it in Sonic Arts Reseach Centre. Rosie has performed as principal harp with The Esker Festival Orchestra, The Ulster Orchestra, The Britten Pears Chamber Orchestra and The Guildhall London Symphony Orchestra.

Timothy Boomer

Timothy Boomer is a multi-instrumentalist and jazz musician from Fermanagh.