Majella still teaching music as a gift for life to students after 35 years of Carlow College of Music

STANDING in the hallway of Carlow College of Music, its founder, Majella Swan, is surrounded by the faces of students past and present – the walls are lined with framed pictures of concerts and prize givings. The college continues to celebrate its 35th anniversary this year since it was founded in 1990 by Majella and her friend Maggie Brady, who has since passed away, but whose contributions are remembered affectionately.

As Majella walks down the hall, she stops at nearly every photo or award to talk about the students in question.

She takes one small photo off the wall.

“This lady was in her 90s and she took up piano again after learning it as a child. She passed away last year. She was such a lovely woman and so good. She gave money to support children who wanted to learn but don’t have the full fee,” Majella said. “Mrs Pamela Young. She had to go by Mrs Pamela Young because I was younger than her, so I had to address her by her full name.” Majella carefully hangs the photo back up on the wall and continues on.

“That’s Brian Kehoe, one of my full-time teachers. He studied here, went on to study music and has come back now to work with us,” Majella said. “There’s a great sense of pride there. It’s lovely to see that they have had the interest to continue in their studies.” Brian is one of a number of former students who have returned to the college as teachers over the years.

Majella next stops in front of some collages of different trips that the Carlow Youth Orchestra, which she began in 1996, has taken over the years.

“We’ve travelled the world, you know. We were in Prague in 2005, teamed up with an orchestra in Belgium. We have been to Slovenia. A big highlight for the orchestra is playing in the Association of Youth Orchestras Festival. We’ve played in that at least four or five times. It’s held in the National Concert Hall in Dublin. We’ve got a good few achievement awards for that.” Today, Majella runs the Carlow Youth Orchestra for older children and because of demand has since started The Staves, an orchestra for younger children. She also runs a choir for primary aged children called Sing It Out, a brass ensemble named No Strings Attached, and a guitar club.

When asked if she thought that the college would still be going strong 35 years after she started it, Majella said: “No, I didn’t. I was just trying to keep going, you know.” Majella and Maggie started by giving lessons to students in two rooms above Majella’s father’s shop, Swan’s Supermarket on Kennedy Street. In 1993, Majella and her husband Stephen bought their home and Majella began to give lessons out of their house, but eventually the demand was such that they built the annexe. Today Majella employs 16 different music teachers and lessons are given in the annexe, in Askea parish centre and Presentation College.

While there is much to celebrate as the college looks back on its 35 year anniversary, Majella admits that running an arts organisation can be challenging financially.

For the last 13 years, the college has put on a two-day music festival where each student is encouraged to perform at least one piece. Each year, Majella invites a professional music adjudicator to judge the performances.

“It’s quite costly to put on the music festival by the time you pay the adjudicator and the venue and all that, so I never make ends meet for it. It would be nice to have some financial support to run the music festival,” Majella said.

Staffing is a source of near constant stress for Majella as she said: “If you’re looking for a particular instrument and you have to go outside Carlow, it’s quite tricky to get teachers to come to Carlow for just a few hours of teaching. If you lose a teacher, trying to get a replacement can be quite tricky. I have found that in the last few years, even getting a commitment from teachers who might say ‘you know, I’m just coming for the year,’ whereas I like to keep the teacher longer because that continuity is very important.” Despite all the stresses and strains of running an arts organisation, Majella says that what has kept her going for the past 35 years is thinking about the bigger picture in terms of the long-term, positive impact on a child’s life.

“If you’re giving a child the opportunity to learn an instrument, I do think it’s a gift for life. I suppose because I’m passionate about music, I forget about all the negatives and just keep going,” Majella said, “Hopefully, I’ll keep going as long as I’m able to.”