2008 Paddy O'Neill Award is Open!

The Paddy O'Neill Award was first held by the Lake School of Celtic Music in January 2007, and resulted in the creation of the amazing young celtic band Beltane.

After working for a week in January in Koroit under the guidance of tutors Ade Kelly and Geoff McArthur, Beltane went on to record a demo CD "The First Summer" and to perform at the Port Fairy Folk Festival, the Koroit Irish Festival and the National Celtic Festival in Portarlington. Their photo is featured on the 2008 Lake School flyer/application form.

The Paddy O'Neill Award is being offered again at the Lake School in 2008 and applications for an audition are open from July 7 2007 (application form required). The Award is open to musicians aged 16-29 who are keen to play in a musically competent celtic style group/band.

The auditions will be held at Irish Murphy's Pub, 30 Aberdeen St, Geelong from 11.30am on Saturday November 17 2007. Successful applicants will receive free tuition and enrolment at the Lake School of Celtic Music in Koroit, January 2-7 2008, and recording time at Yelp Studios in Warnambool. Applicants are urged to think about the logistics of rehearsing and playing in a band, particularly if they are under 18 and don't have a Driver's Licence.

The award was named after Paddy O'Neill, and Irish musician who lived in Melbourne and taught tunes to young players for many years. Paddy now lives back in Ireland

For further enquiries contact Felix Meagher email felix@bushwahzee.com