Together we invite you as musician educators to offer your young musicians the opportunity to learn and rehearse our EU Anthem, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, culminating in live performances of the anthem in schools or other music education settings on the eve of and on Europe Day, 8-9 May 2023. Schools are also invited to raise or display the EU flag when the anthem is performed, and a flag will be distributed to each participating school.
Schools, Local Music Education Partnerships, other groups and individuals taking part may wish to share their performances on social media from 1 May until the end of May 2023, using the hashtag #OurAnthemEU50. A selection of performances will be showcased on the EU50 webpage and on Government social media channels on Europe Day.
How to join
You can register your interest in participating here. You will find a digital project pack of sheet music, recordings and other supporting materials available here. The pack will offer a diverse, accessible and inclusive menu of options to learn and perform the anthem, including:
- a variety of instrumental and vocal musical arrangements at beginner, intermediate and advanced level
- versions for singing in Irish, English and Ukrainian translation, as well as the original German
- play-along tracks (beginner, intermediate)
- video guides (user and demo performances)
- classroom teaching information pack
- Inspiring Creativity pack to encourage students to express their creativity by developing their own unique arrangements and lyrics, in their styles and genres.
We encourage you to use this initiative to celebrate the diversity and richness of cultures and experience within your Local Music Education Partnership, and to acknowledge our historic links with European culture and our enduring membership of the European Union. You may find the dedicated Government EU50 website a useful resource detailing Ireland’s EU journey to date.
Scaoil amach é!
