College of Music brings Christmas to life with uplifting concert
Sisters Liliane and Naomi Picovici performing at the Carlow College of Music's 'A time of wonder' concert in St Mary’s Church
THE wonderfully talented students from Carlow College of Music brought the festive season to life recently with their uplifting Christmas concert ‘A time of wonder’.
The concert was held in St Mary’s Church, Carlow and featured performances from the college’s various ensembles, including Carlow Youth Orchestra, The Staves, No Strings Attached, SingAloud and various soloists.
“It all went fantastic and we were also delighted to raise €2,000 for County Carlow Hospice from ticket sales and a donation bucket we had … people were very generous,” said Majella Swan of Carlow College of Music.
Among the highlights from the concert was a performance of The Polar Express by the youth orchestra and the choir, along with the stunning Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin piece Oiche Nollaig, performed by Brian Kehoe and Damian McGuinness.
“It was a great honour to have that piece at our concert, particularly as I studied with Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin … delighted to have it,” said Majella.
No Strings Attached also lit up the room with their enthusiastic rendition of Jingle Bells, a huge tribute to the students, many of whom are very young and just joined the group last October.
Majella paid tribute to all the hard work of the teachers involved – Imelda Andrew, who looks after SingAloud, Delphine Picovici, the Staves teacher, Oran O’Neill, who teaches No Strings Attached, and Pat Brunnock, who looks after the guitar club. Majella also thanked the college’s office administration Philippa Jennings for all her hard work.
