A number of scholarships in honor of musician and folk singer Paddy Clancy are available to students with an interest in pursuing studies in folk song, sean nós and the traditional ballad. American students may apply the scholarship toward study at the Irish World Music Centre at the University of Limerick.
Paddy Clancy and his brothers had a huge influence on folk music on both sides of the Atlantic. With Tommy Makem, they started Irish song sessions at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York which were attended by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Jeanne Ritchie and others, and Paddy also created Tradition Records which was the first to sign artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Odetta and Harry Belafonte. When he died in 1998, friends and admirers, including Frank McCourt, set up the Paddy Clancy Memorial Scholarship fund to commemorate his life and work. McCourt is president of the fund.
The 2001-2002 winners of the scholarships are: Ashley Davis, a student at Belmont University and Kansas University in language, literature and music; her “Ashley Davis” CD has been recently released featuring traditional songs and her own compositions; and Nicole Sherpa, a student of ethnomusicology at SUNY Empire State College in New York whose interests include Tibetan chant and Irish traditional singing. ♦
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Application forms for the 2002-2003 scholarships may be requested from UWM Center for Celtic Studies, Holton 290, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is June 30, 2002.
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