The National Concert Hall has set a lead for other Dublin-based "national" institutions in showing a determination to bring its activities out to the furthest reaches of the regions.
This week the NCH brought a team of professional musicians to schools in Glenties in north-west Donegal as part of its "In Tune" music residencies, which are taking place in 10 locations all over the Republic.
Ms Lucy Champion, education and communities outreach manager of the NCH, said that as well as being a way of investing in future audiences, the idea of the scheme was to bring the concert hall to the people.
"We are a national cultural institution, and we are saying that we can do more than just provide concerts in Dublin. We know that the concert hall is not exactly down the road for everybody," she said.
Four members of the National Symphony Orchestra, resident at the NCH, conducted workshops in a number of schools in the Glenties area during the week. Ms Champion said the emphasis was on "a hands-on, participatory" approach. The children are encouraged to create their own music, using percussion instruments, around a certain theme or story and they do not need any previous training.
Children from Scoil Mhuire in Glenties took part in an intensive composition project over four days, and will be given the opportunity to perform their finished work at the National Concert Hall on May 14th. Holst's Planets Suite was the basis of the project and the Scoil Mhuire pupils will treat the Dublin audience to their version at the NCH before the National Symphony Orchestra plays Holst.
Ms Champion said an important part of the "In Tune" residencies, which are sponsored by the ESB, was to encourage and support teachers who often lack the confidence to teach music. A "teachers' and musicians' session" was also held in Glenties.
She said that after holding residencies in six counties, they had found there was no consistency in music teaching across schools.
Future residencies will be held in Castlebar, Longford, Galway and Cork.