Vincent Kennedy heads from RTÉ studios to the Abbey VS in Donegal Town

One of the country’s leading conductors and composers, Vincent Kennedy, is swopping the RTÉ studios in Dublin for the Abbey Vocational School in Donegal Town on Friday evening.

Vincent will be travelling from Dublin for an open rehearsal with the Donegal Youth Orchestra which is open to the public from 7pm to 8.30pm. Admission is free.

In recent days Vincent has been conducting the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in the famous Studio One at RTÉ in Donnybrook. They’ve been performing several of his works for a CD which will be released later this year.

Vincent told the Donegal Live: “It’s been wonderful working this week with a fantastic group of professionals in the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. We’ve been performing my own pieces, some of which have been inspired by my long association with Donegal.

“I’m looking forward to heading to Donegal and the very talented bunch in the Donegal Youth Orchestra on Friday night. I hope we’ll have some people along to see what we do. It would be wonderful if we managed to inspire more children to take up a musical instrument.”

The open rehearsal at the Abbey has been arranged by the Donegal Music Education Partnership, which organises the Donegal Youth Orchestra.

DMEP manager Martin McGinley said it’s a great chance to see a leading conductor and an orchestra live in rehearsal.

“We’re very fortunate to have someone like Vincent Kennedy working with our young Donegal musicians. It should be an interesting experience for everyone who comes along, particularly since Vincent will be talking about the various instruments and sections in the orchestra. The young musicians will also be showing how the instruments are played, including less well-known ones like the oboe and the French horn.

“What’s it really about is trying to get people involved in music, and in particular to encourage young people along to our music classes in Donegal Town and Ballyshannon. There’s an opportunity for children to get tuition in a range of instruments, from the violin and the piano to the clarinet and even the bassoon.”

The DMEP, part of the Donegal Education and Training Board, organises music tuition, mostly one-to-one, for more than 400 children and young people across the county. There are also around 1,000 children learning the ukulele as part of a national school programme. The DMEP also organises the Donegal Youth Orchestra, Donegal Chamber Orchestra, Donegal Youth Choir and other performing groups.

For more information about the DMEP and music lessons, go to dmep.ie or call the office at (074) 91 76293 or administrator John McIvor at (087) 715 4700.