Key Skills 2026 - Thurles - LIVE
Devised by RIAM Professors Réamonn Keary and Lorna Horan, this immensely popular workshop for piano teachers examines all repertoire from the new RIAM 2027 Piano Albums (All Grades), with performances, discussions, and tips on how to approach the technical and musical challenges of all pieces.
Description
The August Key Skills workshops will present the new 2027 piano albums for the Lower Grades 2027 and Higher Grades for our new four-year cycle 2027-2030.
All of our live events will be held as a 1-day workshop from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, with exam grades (Elementary - VIII) covered in progressive order.
The Dublin workshop on the 30th of August will be recorded and made available as our “REPLAY” option, available for on-demand online viewing, following the necessary post-production period after the live event.
3 Live Options:
- 23rd August 2026 – Ursuline Convent, Thurles, Co. Tipperary (click here to go to the Thurles Live Event booking page)
- 23rd August 2026 - St. Patrick's Band Society Hall, Fairgreen Road, Galway, H91 KT68, Co. Galway (click here to go to the Galway Live Event booking page)
or
- 30th August 2026 – Vernon Studio, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin (click here to go to the Dublin (RIAM) Live Event booking page)
(The course fee for the live workshops does not include the option of a handbook delivery in the post. Please see below in the Course Handbook section for further details)
On-Demand Online Option:
from approx. Mid-September
- KEY SKILLS 2026 - REPLAY (A recorded version of the 30th August 2026 Dublin Workshop) (click here to go to the Key Skills 2026 REPLAY booking page)
(This option will be made available after the live events, allowing some time for editing and upload to our viewing platform VIMEO).
All of the new 2027 Piano Album repertoire will be performed and discussed, with a particular focus on the technical and musical details that can cause difficulty for the student.
Course Handbook
KEY SKILLS Handbook
All Key Skills 2026 Live workshop participants will receive a copy of the handbook in person, on the day of their workshop.*
All Key Skills 2026 - REPLAY registrants will receive a copy of the Key Skills handbook in the post (postage is included in the booking fee) - please supply your EIRCODE.
The Handbook contains annotated scores and teaching notes for all pieces from the new 2027 Piano Albums (Elementary - Grade VIII).
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*Registrants who can't attend their booked workshop in person can:
- nominate somebody to collect the book at the LIVE event on their behalf.
- request to receive a book by post (after their booked event), subject to paying a supplementary fee of €12 for p&p - payable via this link: Key Skills Handbook - Postal Delivery Token
Handbooks will not be available for posting before the live events.
Learning Outcomes
Topics covered will include
• Recognising and conveying the style and character of each piece
• Suggesting teaching and practice methods to overcome the potential challenges in each piece
• Adding the finishing touches that turn an Honours performance into a Distinction
• Approaching the big exam day itself
Tutors
Réamonn Keary
Réamonn Keary was educated at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Trinity College Dublin, the National University of Ireland Maynooth and in Vienna as a private student of Prof Leonid Brumberg.
He is a Professor and former head of the Keyboard Faculty at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. He frequently gives lectures and workshops on the subject of piano teaching and learning; presenting, for example, the series Piano Keys on RTÉ lyricfm from 2003 to 2017 and the highly popular Key Skills series of workshops for teachers around the country every autumn. He regularly presents masterclasses and has been a guest teacher in Millikin University Illinois and Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna.
Réamonn is highly-regarded as a chamber musician and has performed and recorded with many of the country’s top instrumentalists.
He is closely associated with the RIAM’s Local Centre examination system, having served as the Chairman of the Senior Examiners for many years and annually recording the Local Centre Piano Albums. He is also much in demand as an adjudicator and was a jury member of the Dublin International Piano Competition in 2006 and 2009.
Lorna Horan
Lorna Horan is chief examiner (music) for the RIAM Exam System. She is selector and editor of the Local Centre junior piano albums, and is on the selecting and editing panel for the senior piano albums and extended lists. Lorna has recorded all the junior and senior aural test samples for the Local Centre exams and is one of the Key Skills’ workshop leaders.
Lorna started her piano training in the Royal Irish Academy of music (RIAM) before progressing to the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. She later graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music and from the Vancouver Academy of Music. She holds a master’s from the RIAM under the tutelage of John O’Conor.