Watch the RTÉ News report and read the Irish Times report about the concert attended by President Mary McAleese to mark the 21st annversary of the RTÉ/Irish Times Music in the Classroom series.

The RTÉ/Irish Times Music in the Classroom series has been a remarkable success story. Over the last 21 years the concerts have brought the excitement, beauty and sheer fun of live orchestral music to generations of primary and junior secondary school children - at this stage they have reached almost three quarters of a million students and teachers throughout the country. To celebrate the 21st anniversary, President Mary McAleese joined the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conductor Gearóid Grant, soloists Emmanuel Lawler and Peter Sweeney and the girls from the Dex McGloughlin School of Ballet for a special performance in University Concert Hall, Limerick on 21 January 2010.

The idea for Music in the Classroom originated with Gearóid Grant, who as a lecturer in a teacher training college realised that many student teachers were keen to teach music effectively but unsure how to go about it. Cathal MacCabe of RTÉ and Sean Hogan of The Irish Times backed the idea of devising a guide to help teachers in the classroom and in 1989 a set of five tapes and a teacher's manual was produced. This in turn prompted the idea of doing something for the children themselves, inspiring the schools concerts.

The programmes, devised and conducted by Gearóid Grant, provide an entertaining and imaginative introduction to the experience of seeing an orchestra perform on stage for students who may never otherwise get this chance. The aim is to instil a love of listening to and learning about music, and thousands of students over the years have had their interest in music set alight by these concerts. The series has always been organised on a not-for-profit basis and at least 10% of seats each year are allocated to children from schools with designated DEIS status.

Both of the RTÉ orchestras take part in the series, the 89-strong RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the 45-strong RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Each year there are 17 concert days for primary school children in Dublin and a five-day tour around the country, and two concert days for Junior Cert students, with about 2,000 students attending each day. Over the years, Music in the Classroom has been to Cork, Limerick, Galway, Castlebar, Killarney, Waterford, Athlone, Wexford, Belfast and Derry. The Irish Times also publishes a magazine twice a year for primary school children to support the concerts.

The spirit of enthusiasm and fun is alive and kicking after 21 years. This series has brought immense rewards for students and for teachers - and not forgetting for the musicians themselves.

As Gearóid Grant says: 'I meet young music teachers now who tell me their first experience of a concert was at Music in the Classroom and it was such a joyful one. That's hugely important. Making music come alive and making it interesting for little kids - they're dying to know things about music and if you tell them they're dying to learn.that's magic.'