Movie Magic with the ICO

Bernard Hermann   Psycho Suite 
Luis Bacalov           Il Postino 
Jean Claude Petit    Theme from Jean de Florette
John Williams         Theme from Schindler's List
Johnny Greenwood  Suite from There Will be Blood
Nino Rota                Love Them The Godfather
Ennio Morricone     Theme from Cinema Paradiso
Sherman                   I wanna be like you
Henry Mancini        The Lonely Princess and It Had Better Be Tonight
John Williams          Hedwig's Theme
Michel Legrand       Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Encore Carlos Gardel           Encore Por una Cabeza 

The Irish Chamber were at St John's Church Waterford last night with their Magic of the Movies tour as guests of Symphony Club of Waterford. They were joined by accordionist Dermot Dunne who was reunited with his Far Flung Trio accomplices, Katherine Hunka and Malachy Robinson . This was music to sit back and wallow in  and the ICO played the many dreamy wistful melodies with unabashed enthusiasm. Opening with  music from Psycho, it was remarkable that the  audience reacted with smiles and chuckles to Hermann's bleak jagged score designed to evoke shock and horror.The accordion and pianissimo don't often appear in the same sentence but Dunne drew this most  deliquescent of dynamics  from his instrument in the acoustic of the church space . Versatility was a keynote of the evening and players added variety with a bit of singing and strumming their violins, ukulele style. While you'd have to admire the can-do attitude of the players, the larky element of a Jungle Book number with Malachy Robinson on vocals had a cabaret feel to it and didn't quite suit the spartan, ecclesiastical atmosphere of the venue.

There was a good enough turnout of 200 or so. Conspicuous by their absence was any student element from either second or third level  courses.  A pity because this was repertoire that had universal appeal. Touring to Monkstown and Sligo this weekend.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra return to Waterford in the Autumn when they step into the breach left by the Irish Baroque Orchestra who have pulled out of their scheduled date. We are lucky to have them visit twice this season. I had a chat with CEO Gerry Keenan who tells me that the orchestra had a wonderful reception at their German concerts in Wurzberg and Cologne earlier this season



The next SCOW concert features the Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra and the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble, Sunday 11th September 2016, with guest conductors Johan De Meij and Ronan O Reilly.

All Beethoven Night at SCOW

I am just in from a wonderful night of orchestral music in Waterford courtesy of Symphony Club of Waterford. The Hibernian Orchestra is a Dublin based ensemble  that straddles the amateur and professional sphere. It is a voluntary group but skill levels are high and most of these players could sit in comfortably to a  pro orchestra desk/

The all Beethoven programme featured a Leonora Overture, the relatively sunny second symphony and a mighty performance by Helena Wood of the Violin Concerto. I can't imagine hearing a better rendition of this work . Ms Wood's performance was full of vim and vigour but with plenty of sweetness and delicacy to make you swoon too. Leader of the NSO, she is superb and clearly a great asset to the Irish  scene. The orchestra under conductor John Finucane coped very well with the washy acoustic keeping everything short  and scaling back the pianissimos to  'barely there' to allow the soloist to shine. The Larghetto augmented by the counterpoint of  a natural sound effect of a whistling wind was sublime.

The team of volunteers at Symphony Club of Waterford under administrator Liam Daly  do a terrific job of bringing large scale ensembles to Waterford.  SCOW has just announced five attractive events for 2016 featuring some of  the very best  ensembles in Ireland. Details are posted below.  I was disappointed tonight not to see many fellow musicians in the audience. Waterford has umpteen choirs, several brass bands , several orchestras, music schools  and a third level degree music programme, none of whom were well represented this evening. Where was everybody? The standard of music making deserved a bigger audience cohort than the sub 100 gathered in Parnell Street for a remarkable musical evening, surely a highlight of the 2015 season.The evening started with silence as we remembered the many in Paris who just like us had set out to enjoy a night's entertainment in their city.  If the audience was meagre, they did not lack enthusiasm and I am happy to report that there was a standing ovation following the final triumphant bars of the concerto. Bravo tutti!




The Hibernian Orchestra repeat the programme on November 28th Christchurch Cathedral Dublin

SCOW 2016 Season 

Camerata Ireland with Barry Douglas (piano) Friday 12th The Large Room

Itish Chamber Orchestra Thursday 19th May St John's Church

RTE NSO July Date Venue tbc

Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra Sunday 11th September  WIT Sports Hall

Irish Baoque Orchestra Friday 11th November St John's Church

Fire Your Imagination at Imagine 2014

Imagine Arts Festival Waterford  16-26th October




Imagine Arts Festival  is almost upon us and there is a just a fortnight or so to peruse the programme and savour the anticipation of the impressive range of events lined up for this eclectic arts festival.  Here is my pick of the highlights of the  first three days.
Imagine 2014

Gary Curtin Euphonium

Black Dyke Band: Saturday 18th Oct Cathedral Barronstrand St 
The tradition  of Brass Bands associated with the industrial heartland of the North of England may have waned with the closure of the mines and cessation of the mills but some of the very best brass bands in the world are still found in this corner of England . Roy Keane is not the only Mayfield man to be excelling in Manchester arenas Embedded in The Black Dyke Band is Gary Curtin, a virtuoso euphonium  player from Cork.  The draw of hearing one of their own in

the only Irish appearance of the Black Dyke Band has led to a run on tickets and a move to a larger venue. Expect an influx of buses bearing Leeside brass fans to descend on the Cathedral on Saturday.
I asked Liam Daly, administrator of SCOW Symphony Club of Waterford,  what is so special about Curtin. "An amazingly talented musical and technically versatile musician to have come from the Banks of the Lee, to have studied at the Cork School of Music, to grace the stages of some of the greatest concert halls in Europe,and to hold the Solo Euphonium position with with one of the worlds greatest Brass Bands is a testament to his talent"   

Anja Poche Lipfert with Camerata Kilkenny  Thursday 16th Oct

Listeners to Gloria, RTE's sacred music programme will have heard Tim Thurston wax lyrical about the Calmus Ensemble from Leipzig who performed at the Borris River Arts Festival recently.  Anja Poche Lipfert, soprano with the ensemble returns to perform with the Kilkenny based Baroque ensemble led by Malcolm Proud at the harpsichord. The concert is part of the Waterford Music series and takes place in the elegant Georgian Large Room at City Hall . The programme will feature music by JS Bach. Waterford Music work hard to bring a regular offering of attractive  chamber music  to Waterford despite having their funding slashed . You can check out the full schedule for the Waterford Music series here 

Jim Nolan Book Launch Book Centre Friday 17th Oct. 6.30pm
The Gallery Press launch Dreamland by Waterford playwright Jim Nolan at The Book Centre.

Art Exhibition.
Gerard Scarfe's political cartoons are on view in The Waterford Port building on O Connell St from 7.00pm Sat 17th October

Lots more to choose from with two World Music ensembles at Garter Lane on Thurday and one man theatre presentations at Theatre Royal and Central Hall. The John Dwyer Trad Weekend will be in full swing with sessions all over the Quay. Legendary box player , Mairtin O Connor is headlining the bill on Saturday night at Dooley's Hotel.




John Adams in Waterford  Modern music buffs may like to note that Io Sone l'Amore, the film scheduled for Film and Feast evening on Sat 18th features a score by modern minimalist composer John Adams. I think I might have warmed to Nixon in China if it came with some lovely Chinese grub.