
Musicianship & Kindermusic Lecturer
Edel McDonnell (MA, BA Hons, LRSM, DipMus RIAM)
Edel McDonnell is a lecturer in the MTU Cork School of Music, Department of Musicianship and Academic Studies. Since joining the department in 2006, she has contributed to the Early Years Education and Musicianship programme while also lending her expertise to the Department of Applied Social Studies during this period. In addition, she has lectured periodically at Technological University Dublin (TUD) and at the Marino Institute of Education, an associated college of Trinity College Dublin.
Edel has an extensive educational background and a strong record of continuous professional development in areas related to Early Childhood Music Education (including Kodály and Orff), Musicianship Training in Solfège and Conversational Solfege, as well as in conducting research on early childhood music teacher training.
She graduated from several highly regarded institutions: South East Technological University Waterford (SETU) in 1999, the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2002, and the MTU Cork School of Music in 2005. Committed to lifelong learning, Edel has also completed certificates in Early Childhood Music Education at prestigious institutions including the British Kodály Academy at the University of Roehampton (UK), Silver Lake College (USA), The Hartt School at the University of Hartford (USA), and The Mason Community Arts Academy at George Mason University (USA).
Over the course of her career, Edel has received both national and international recognition. She was a prize-winner at the Dublin Feis Ceoil and at the MTU Cork School of Music, where she was most notably awarded the Bernard Curtis Prize for piano performance. She has also received multiple scholarships from Silver Lake College, USA.
Edel has made significant contributions to university life through programme and course development, research, and conference presentations. She has presented papers on topics including the impact of singing interventions on teachers in Irish early years classrooms at international conferences such as the Early Childhood Ireland Online Research Symposium, the Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children England Conference, the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children Conference (Belgium), and the European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference (Greece).
Above all, Edel values being part of a team that creates an enriching Kodály-inspired learning experience for children and adults—developing their musicianship through singing and movement while fostering lifelong learning and personal growth.