BOYS' CHOIR

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some of the boys who sang in the National Concert Hall on Sunday, 12th June 2005.
Back: Niall Delmar, Caolan Beehan, Killian Farrell, Adam Gibson, Eoin Mongey, Bobby Reardon, Aidan O'Sullivan
Front: Kilian Tennyson, Hugh Burgess, Tim O'sullivan, Senan Dobey, Eoin MacLachlan.		 Choir boys enjoy a barbie as a special treat for a great year's work.

The National Concert Hall

On Sunday, June 12th I sang in the National Concert Hall with the National Children's Choir. In April every school participating in the National Children's Choir had sent a group of children to the concert. Roughly 10% of all the people from the concert in April were picked to sing at a concert in the National Concert Hall. On the day of the concert there was a sound check. We went to the Concert Hall at 10:30 and left at 1:30. St.Pius was picked to sing "Good Fellows, Be Merry". This was quite an achievement, considering that only an elite group of boys were singing it. After the sound check we all went home and relaxed. At 6:30 there was a dress rehearsal and at 7:30 the concert began. Ray D'Arcy was the compere and one can only imagine the excitement when he was seen backstage. We were put into our places backstage and used both entries/exits. Just after 7:30 we walked out onto the stage and took up our places.
When everyone was ready and the orchestra had tuned their instruments, Ray D'Arcy came out on stage and took up a position on the left side, beside a microphone. He introduced the leader of the orchestra, Tibby Karen, and Seán Creamer, the conductor. Our first song was "Faraway Places". This went well and was a great beginning to a great concert. Our last song before the interval was "Bless This House", and after that the cellist Eoin Quinlan played five short pieces by Schumann. He was accompanied by Lance Coburn on the piano. After this there was an interval and we walked off the stage the same way we came on.
The first song of the second half was "Mo Ghile Mear", which went very well. After this the concert got very "Irish", due to the fact that there were a large number of traditional Irish songs. Our last song, "Battle Hymn Of The Old Republic" was the most uplifting and it was definitely the high-point of the concert. After it there was such an amount of applause that we sang an encore, "Top Of The World". By the end of this Mr.Creamer had turned around and was conducting the audience. It was all very exciting and I am disappointed that it's all over.
Killian Farrell( 5th Class, Mr. Ryan)

The National Concert Hall

My experience in the National Concert Hall was amazing. The Concert took place on Sunday the 12th of June. Schools from all over Ireland took part in this three-day festival of music. After a final practice on stage, 7.30 finally arrived, we walked on stage feeling both nervous and excited .The theme of the night was people and places. After some songs we got such applause it was hard not to smile. In what seemed like a flash Mr. Sean Creamer was conducting our last song, which was The Battle Hymn of the Republic the crowd erupted. We responded with an encore, which was entitled `On Top of the World`. It was a great experience and I know I'll remember for the rest of my life , and what a great way to end the school year!
Caolan Beehan

The National Children's Choir Experience

On the 11th of April at 10 to 7pm, I went up to the school to meet the rest of my friends while waiting for the bus. The bus was going to bring us to the National Basketball Arena where the concert was being held. I was very nervous on the bus hoping I'd remember the words. It had been ages since learning the songs but we did practice all day. We were going to sing 21 songs in total.
When we got to the arena we stood outside for a while but then we went in. At back stage I was very nervous. Then I went into the hall and waited. There were lots of other schools there already. When I looked around I saw the audience was huge. Our conductor Mr. Creamer wasn't there yet but the orchestra was. There were lots of violins in the orchestra. There was also a double base, two trumpets and a drum kit.
When Mr. Craemer came out I felt very excited and when the compare announced the first 3 songs I felt even more excited. It was all going really well until we had to sing Thy Home in Fair Provence. Some people from different schools weren't watching Mr. Creamer and they came in to early but they stopped when they saw they weren't meant to be singing.
At the break the compare Niamh Murray sang a few songs. Then we had to sing again. At that stage I was sweating because of the lights and singing. I thought we were doing well in the 1st part but we did even better in the 2nd part. Like when we sang 'On Wings Of Song' and 'Sweet Thames Flow Softly'. One of my favorite songs was 'Yulishka' but my favorite song was 'The Battle Hymn of The Republic'. I thought we sang it really well. We finished of by singing 'I'm on Top of The World'. On the way home my parents told me they were really proud of me.
By Fergus (Purcell's Class)

PERCUSSION

Today a percussion group, from Waltons' School of Music, visited our school. There were two men, who set up a workshop of percussion instruments in our P.E. hall. The two men were called, David Burns, who was from Ireland, and Evelio Galan, from Cuba.
We started with some echo clapping. Then we started with the instruments. First David got a wooden agogo. David and Evelio told us about the agogo. They told us that the agogo is from Brazil. They also told us that it is used for samba music in Rio de Janeiro. The claves, which are wooden sticks that you hit against each other, were the next instruments that we used. The strange thing about the claves is that the sound chamber is your hand, which means you have to hold them in a certain way.
Maracas, which are animals' skins with seeds, pebbles or sand in them, were the next thing we used. Maracas as you may not know, should be held with your hand pointing forward, not sideways. Then we used the jingle sticks, which you should hold upside down, right at the bottom. Then with your other hand you should tap where your other hand is. The next instrument we used was the guiro, which is from Cuba. To play the guiro, you need a stick to scrape it. The next instruments we used were bigger than the others. The first big instruments we used were the congas. The congas were three drum like instruments, that all made their own noises. Then we used the bongos which are also like drums. Then we used the djembas. The congas, the bongos and the djembas were all very similar. Not only did they look quite similar, they also made the same noises. They made the same noises. One of the sounds, was that when you slap them in the middle, the sound is called bass, and when you slap the edge, it is called open. The last instrument we used was the drum kit.
I played the claves, but my favourite instruments were the bongos. I really enjoyed it.
By Sean Forsyth
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