Highlights 2015-2021

Eoin Casey

Eoin Casey

Winner of The Stanford Prize, The Senior Organ, and The Catherine McAuley award at Dublin’s Feis Ceoil.

Shane McLoughlin

Shane McLoughlin

Winner of the Stanford Cup and The Catherine McAuley award at Dublin’s Feis Ceoil.

Sarah Brady

Sarah Brady

Recent past pupil, winner of the Lieder Prize, Nancy Calthorpe Cup, Dermot Troy Trophy, Gervase Elwes Memorial Cup and the very prestigious €15,000 RDS Music Bursary at Dublin’s Feis Ceoil.

Eimear Kyle from Longford performs on the Concert Harp on RTE’s Nationwide programme.

College_FrontThe Schola Cantorum operates as a miniature music conservatoire at St. Finian’s College, Mullingar. Its purpose is to provide a specialised music education for girls and boys in parallel with their normal secondary school studies.

Following annual auditions in February of each year, scholarships funded by the Irish Catholic Hierarchy are awarded to talented young musicians to study in Mullingar. These are valuable scholarships which entitle the recipients to five years free music tuition at the Schola.

The award also entitles some girls and boys from further afield to accommodation grants so that they can reside with host families (Monday – Friday) beside the College.

While studying at The Schola Cantorum there is a strong emphasis on Church music. We have been providing a training ground for young organists and choral directors from all over the country since the establishment of this specialist school by the Irish Hierarchy in 1970. Our students take advanced studies in piano, organ, conducting and choral training, complimented with appropriate Associated Board Theory programmes. Students may also take an additional instrument or take individual singing tuition. All these supplementary music classes coincide with a normal secondary education in St Finian’s. Students are encouraged to participate in various choirs, instrumental and string ensembles within the school.

A  new and exciting Transition year programme has been successfully introduced in St Finian’s in September 2017. Scholarship students have an opportunity over the course of one academic year to develop their interest in many other aspects of music, while participating in all aspects of the Transition year programme.

Click above to view Junior Certificate student Peter Regan from Roscommon play Chopin’s Nocturne in E minor
during the Schola Cantorum 40th Anniversary Concert from St Patrick’s College, Maynooth,
and later broadcast on RTÉ television.

VIEW MORE VIDEOS OF PERFORMANCES BY SCHOLA STUDENTS

LISTEN TO AUDIO TRACKS BY SCHOLA STUDENTS

Scholarship Applicants for 1st year, September 2023

Preliminary Online Auditions for September 2023 candidates will take place in October 2022. Second auditions for full Schola places will take place in May 2023.  See information on our Open Weekend on www.stfinianscollege.ie.

Interested applicants should submit queries to schola@stfinianscollege.ie