Colm Wilkinson was in town recently to help us launch our Christmas Concerts, the launch was held at Johnson and Perrott showrooms in MahonPoint. Cork Youth Orchestras performances under Conductor and Musical Director Tomas McCarthy, presented in association with Jaguar were held in the City Hall Cork, on Sat 10th and Sun 11th of December 2011. We were delighted to have Brittany Ferries as sponsors, and the support of The Evening Echo as our Media Sponsors. The Launch was very well attended. City Lord Mayor Cllr Terry Shannon and County Mayor Cllr Tim Lombard were among the guests. Both concerts were sold-out,
Sales were from Pro Musica, Oliver Plunkett St, and Xtravision outlets, or on-line at www.ticketgroup.ie
CYO and JCYO will return to rehearsals on the 3rd of September, at Deerpark. Our three orchestras have busy schedules planned. Our Chamber Orchestra has been invited to perform at the City Councils "Culture Night" which will be held on the 23rd of September. The Orchestra will perform in the Masonic Hall in Tuckey St, and should be a very special occasion. The RTE Vanbrugh Quartet have performed at this venue for the last two culture nights, so we are following in special footsteps.
Plans are advanced for our concerts with Colm Wilkinson which will be held on the 10th and 11th of December in the City Hall. Listen out for Colm on 96fm next Tuesday morning (30th). There will be an overnight trip to Killarney to prepare for the City Hall. The Junior Orchestra will perform at the IAYO Festival of Youth Orchestras concert at the National Concert Hall, Dublin in Feb 2012.
Tour plans are progressing with the Tour to Italy, we will be travelling to Tuscany early in July 2012 where we will perform in Florence, Lucca and Montecatini.
Tickets for the Colm Wilkinson concerts were placed on sale to coincide with Colm's appearance on the Season finale of the Late Late Show. Tickets are available from www.ticketgroup.ie, any Xtra-vision outlet, and direct from the Orchestra. The concerts are to be held on Sat 10th and Sun 11th December 2011.
Anyone who attended the Altan CYO concert will know what a special night it was. Two video cameras were used to give the audience close-up live images of the Orchestra and Altan during the concert. This footage was recorded and has been edited into a DVD which is available to purchase. An order-form will be included with the registration forms being posted next week.
MORE than 1,000 people filled City Hall to witness a unique fusion of traditional music with a classical orchestra as Altan played with the Cork Youth Orchestra. The Sold-out concert was a huge success and the stunning musical performances merited an instant standing ovation from the awe-struck crowd.
"The inspiration to form a CORK YOUTH ORCHESTRA came in the first instance, as a result of that memorable visit early in the year of the world-renowned National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain."........quote from The Cork Examiner on July 2nd 1958.
Mr Michael O'Callaghan. M.A. B.Mus was the founding conductor. In Michaels opinion, the founding and supporting of the Cork Youth Orchestra was a vital historic event in he world of music in this country........quote from The Cork Examiner on July 2nd 1958.
After the Inaugural concert in the Aula Maxima, UCC, there was a reception in the Imperial Hotel.
A presentation was made to the conductor.
The Conductor
.....quote from The Irish Press friday Jan 30th 1959......
Perhaps the most self-effacing person there, was Michael o'Callaghan. The earnest, hard-working conductor who has done the teaching and the coaxing, the inspiring, the encouraging and the disciplining over the past few months.
A gentle, quiet-spoken and unassuming man without a trace of cynicism or side in his make-up, he is the father of six children and teacher of music at Christian College.
A visitor who was present at a class of his a few years ago told me he had never been so quickly, so memorably illuminated, as during a short lesson of Michael O'Callaghan's to a class of small boys. I have heard too, that his brilliant lectures at boarding schools in the country have had the same results.
He is an inspired teacher not only because of his great love of music but also because of his sense of the importance of children. Nothing is too good for them, in the spiritual sense, ''but the best thing of all is the good example of parents and teachers.'' He means it when he tells you that he is 'priviliged to teach.' With such a man directing it the Youth Orchestra should attain maturity and distinction.
