Performing Arts Scholarships
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The Ad Astra Performing Arts Scholarship Membership has grown in number from 6 to 20 scholars. The group currently comprises of eight actors, including a director/writer and eleven musicians. To have a better look at what is involved in the scholarships, then make sure to check out our behind the scenes videos of our Drama and Music Scholarship Programmes.
Ad Astra musicians and vocalists have performed as the Ad Astra Ensemble in numerous places abroad and in Ireland including: Newman University Church, the National Concert Hall, Christchurch Cathedral, Hugh Lane Gallery, the National Gallery, Strasbourg and the Irish Ambassadors Residence in Ottawa, Canada as part of their 2017 St Patrick's day celebrations.
In March 2019, the music scholars travelled to Strasbourg with the UCD Symphony Orchestra to take part in concerts organised by the Orchestre Universitaire de Strasbourg. The trip culminated in an ensemble of almost 150 student musicians performing Prokofiev’s Knight’s March from the ballet Romeo & Juliet in the Église Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune, which was conducted by the UCD Symphony Orchestra’s Artistic Director, Ciarán Crilly. They also performed a chamber music recital at the Church of St Guillaume.
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Several of the Ad Astra music scholars have performed with the UCD Symphony Orchestra and Bootleg Beatles in Bord Gais Energy Theatre. The Performing Arts scholars have also collaborated as a group on performance pieces such as Yeats' At the Hawk's Well – a blend of dance, theatre, and musical performance.
The Performing Arts Scholars continue to train, perform and develop new work. In 2025, it included the creation of a series of new plays inspired by an association with Fishamble Theatre Company, written by the Ad Astra Drama scholars and presented in the Fitzgerald Chamber in April. With lunchtime performances of baroque, classical and romantic repertoire on the 4th floor of the O’Brien Centre for Science and in the UCD Trapdoor Theatre, presented by the Ad Astra music scholars, and an end of year music recital, which took place in Hugh Lane Gallery, these scholars excel in performance while providing many opportunities for public engagement with the internal and external UCD community.
For the 2025/26 academic year, the current Ad Astra drama and music scholars will collaborate on the creation of a new site specific, multi-disciplinary performance in the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). This performance will be developed under the direction of Artistic Director Kellie Hughes, in collaboration with Music Director Therésè Timoney and IMMA visual artist in residence Crystal Bennes.
The Ad Astra Alumni Initiative continues to provide mentoring and production support to Ad Astra Performing Arts Alumni. This year, Conor O Rourke worked on his new play Life’s a Drag in the Ad Astra studio with alumni Joshua McNutt and Wiktoria Kordacka, alongside current scholar Emma O’ Leary. This work premiered in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2025.
Hear from our Performing Arts Scholarship students as they speak about their time in the programme, and the benefits they got from it.
See more about the events our Performing Arts musicians take part in here
