Ormond Octaves concert in Gurtagarry
After being silenced for two years by the pandemic, the soul-comforting sounds of music and song will resound once again when the Ormond Octaves choir and local primary school pupils perform in Saint Joseph's Church, Gurtagarry, on Friday, June 17, at 8pm.
The concert by the 60-member choir and Guratgarry NS children, conducted by Niamh Ryan, will also feature leading musicians and solo singers, and is being held in association with the Gurtagarry NS Parents Association, with all proceeds in aid of the school.
Sit back and enjoy a memorable evening as the choir, the children and musicians transport you on a delightful musical journey that will feature everything from the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, to Elvis Presley, Coldplay, Bagatelle and much more.
The concert will feature songs that are old favourites and new, songs from famous musicals and numbers that have thrilled and enchanted audiences down through the decades.
Even the sound of Lady Gaga will echo in Gurtagarry as the choir perform Shallow, her hit number sung with Bradley Cooper in the film, A Star is Born.
Toomevara's own Robbie Powell will lead the choir in Tell Me It's Not True from the musical Blood Brothers and soloist Liam Brennan will bring us back the years with Bagatelle's 1980 hit, Summer in Dublin.
Other choir songs on the programme include the beautiful Robert Burns number, O My Love is Like a Red Red Rose, Mo Ghíle Mear, and Can't Help Falling in Love with You, Elvis Presley's chart topper from 1962.
The children are sure to wow the audience with their own renditions of The Bare Necessities and Éibhlín a Rún, and in their singing with the choir of the Elbow hit, One Day Like This, and the Cranberries number, Dreams.
A REAL TREAT
Ed Dwan (violin) and Úna Feehan (piano) have a real treat in store in combining to deliver The Snowy Breasted Pearl, while Gurtagarry's Willie O' Brien will perform his lovely rendition of Bring Him Home from the musical Les Misérables.
There is bound to be much laughter too with Liam Gleeson's recital of the hilarious Pam Ayres poem, Satnav, while the Sarah Brightman hit, Nella Fantasia, and the song, Not While I'm Around from the musical Sweeney Todd, will be performed respectively by soloists Eithne Kennedy and Peter Walsh. Father and daughter duo Tom and Mary Meagher will come together to sing the beautiful My Belfast Love in a programme that will also feature other favourites by the choir, including Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and Somewhere Only We Know, the song made famous as the teaser number used to promote the Disney film, Winnie the Pooh. Other numbers will include the choir's most requested number, the haunting Requiem, the song of grief written by Eliza Gilkyson following the Asian Tsunami in 2004, and Maggie in the Woods performed by the children. The performance will build to a crescendo finish as the full ensemble combines to belt out the rousing Coldplay hit, Viva La Vida.
Musical accompaniment on the night will be Ed Dwan on violin; Úna Feehan, piano; Adrian Jackson on bass and Kate Byrne, drums/percussion.
Doors of the church open a half hour before the commencement. No tickets are required, but those attending can make a voluntary donation to the school if they wish.