This article is from page 31 of the 2007-10-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
YOUNG music fans from east Clare last week had a day they will never forget, courtesy of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Glor and Scar- iff Community School.
On Wednesday, 500 youngsters from surrounding national schools were treated to three, hour-long ses- sions on classical music by the or- chestra.
Now that Scariff is offering mu- sic aS a subject right up to Leaving Certificate stage, their own music students were able to benefit enor- mously from the visit.
“It was definitely one of the best thing ever to happen at the school,” said Principal, Sean Daly.
‘The conductor, James Kavanagh, had a great rapport with the young- sters and he really got the best out of them. They loved it and the staff were just blown away by it.”
Roughly half the orchestra turned up for the three sessions in the school hall.
The sessions were part of a larger visit organised by Clare County Council Arts Office and Glor.
The National Symphony Orchestra took up residence in County Clare last week and their programme en-
compassed workshops for primary school students, concerts for second- ary school students and public con- certs in Kilkee and Ennis with mas- ter piper Liam O’F lynn.
An estimated six thousand people heard the musicians of the orchestra perform in the course of the week.
To prepare the ground conductor James Cavanagh ran a training ses- sion for teachers in Glor in Septem- oe
Members of the orchestra also con- tributed their own informal voluntary element to the residency week with outreach activities including per- formances in local nursing homes.
Principal Daly said that staff and students at the Scariff school were “delighted that they choose to come here. It was great for the area and great for the school as well”.
PM CUESS deem pede mete) eco s colonel oy the RTE NSO, with enthusiastic re- sponses in past years from schools and public audiences alike in Kerry, Donegal, Cork, Mayo, Galway and Laois.