The composer of a new piece of music being premiered in Letterkenny next weekend has said it draws its inspiration from the sounds of Donegal and the experience of living in the county.

‘This is Real’ has been written by John McLachlan, one of Ireland’s best-known contemporary composers. He lives near Redcastle in Inishowen. The piece will be performed in Conwal Church in Letterkenny on Sunday week (21^st) at 3pm.

The world premiere will feature the renowned Robinson Panoramic Quartet (above), who are based in Dublin, with the Donegal Chamber Orchestra. There is also a recorded part, with Donegal voices and sounds from the Donegal landscape.

John McLachlan (pictured above with the DMEP’s Martin McGinley) said: “Donegal is a big presence in ‘This is Real’. That presence is most obvious in the recorded sounds, which come from beaches, fields, even cafes in Donegal. But the parts for quartet and chamber orchestra are also drawn from ideas and feelings about the county. So it’s great to have the first performance here.”

The new work has been commissioned by the Donegal Music Education Partnership with the assistance of the Arts Council. The DMEP is part of Donegal Education and Training Board.

The concert at Conwal Church will also feature a second world premiere. The Robinson Panoramic Quartet will give the first performance of ‘Absence’ by composer Derek Ball. Derek, who lives in Glasgow and is originally from Letterkenny, is expected to attend the concert.

He composed ‘Absence’ recently as a gift for cellist Victor Yélamo and his wife, the violinist Orsolya Szabo-Yélamo. Victor conducts the Donegal Chamber Orchestra and Orsolya is its leader.

Martin McGinley, of the Donegal Music Education Partnership, said the concert is a very special one for music in Donegal.

“To have one world premiere is an honour, to have two makes it an even more remarkable occasion,” he said. “It’s also wonderful for our musicians in the Donegal Chamber Orchestra, and in particular our talented young students, to get a chance to work with John McLachlan and play with the Robinson Panoramic Quartet.”

The Donegal Chamber Orchestra (above, with conductor Victor Yélamo and leader Orsi Szabo-Yélamo on right) is one of the eleven performing groups of the DMEP. It is a mix of adult and student musicians.

The Robinson Panoramic Quartet is based in Dublin. All four members are top Irish-based classical players – Malachy Robinson, double bass, and Robin Panter, viola, who both play with the Irish Chamber Orchestra; Malachy’s wife Anita Vedres, violin, a member of the Irish Baroque Orchestra; and Kate Ellis on cello, who’s artistic director of the acclaimed contemporary music group, the Crash Ensemble.

The Donegal Chamber Orchestra will open the concert in Conwal Church with a selection of works by some of the best-known classical composers. The Robinson Panoramic Quartet will continue with a work by English composer David Knotts (1972 – ) called ‘Night Song and Garden Quadrille’ before giving the world premiere of Derek Bell’s ‘Absence’. The concert will conclude with the world premiere of John McLachlan’s ‘This is Real’.

Admission is €10 (€5 concession). For more information contact the DMEP on 074 91 76293 or email musiceducation@donegaletb.ie

The RPQ will give a second performance of ‘This is Real’ in the Sugar Club in Dublin on Thursday 1^st February as part of the ‘Kaleidoscope Night’ concert series.

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The DMEP are very excited to announce that the Donegal Youth Choir, led by conductor Sara Laughlin, are off to Dublin on Easter Sunday to take part in one of the biggest events in the year of 1916 celebrations – the live televised concert ‘A Nation’s Voice’.

Thirty members of the choir will join more than 1,000 singers from all over the country and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra for the open-air concert at the National Museum Collins Barracks.

The concert will be presented by Miriam O’Callaghan and will be broadcast live at 2.30pm on RTÉ One, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra and on longwave.

The programme includes the world première of ‘One Hundred Years a Nation’, a new orchestral and choral work commissioned for the occasion by RTÉ from composer Shaun Davey with text by writer Paul Muldoon.

This is a very exciting time for the choir and for DMEP, we are very proud to be a part of such a magnificant event. We would like to wish all of you the very best of luck!

The concert is free. Tickets were allocated through a nationwide raffle.

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The Donegal Music Education Partner ship (DMEP) are ensuring that children and young people in the Donegal Town area get more opportunities to learn how to play music and to sing.

They are holding a ‘come and try’ session featuring lots of different instruments in the Adult Education and Training Centre at Drumcliff, Donegal Town, on Tuesday 19th January. The session runs from 5.30pm to 6.30pm and will be hosted by the cellist Victor Yelamo and fiddler Martin McGinley, who’s recently been appointed Acting Music Development Officer with the DMEP.

Martin McGinley and Victor Yelamo.

“It’s a great chance for children, young people and their parents to come along and have a go at an instrument for a bit of fun,” said Martin. “If we get enough interest in an instrument we’ll run classes. We’re already teaching piano, violin, viola, saxophone and other instruments in the Donegal Town area, and Victor has just started doing cello. We also have voice classes.”

Victor Yelamo, who’s originally from the Malaga area of Spain, is taking the new cello classes in the Adult Education and Training Centre on Tuesday evenings. He has some spaces for new students. He is a full-time performer and teacher, as well as being director of Donegal Camerata. He remains a member of the acclaimed Concerto Malaga. Victor would also like to hear from string players of all abilities who are interested in taking part in a string ensemble in the Donegal Town area.

For more information contact Music Education Partnership on 07491 76293, or email musiceducation@donegaletb.ie.

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Are you interested in singing and would like the opportunity
to develop your musicality in a fun environment?

Do you enjoy performing and being part of a team?

Donegal Youth Choir (DYC) is now recruiting new members for the
2015-16 academic year. Membership is by audition only.
Who can join? Any young male & female singers aged between14 and 20 who enjoy singing.

Auditions will be held on: Sunday, 27th September at 3.15pm in the Regional Cultural Centre, Port Road, Letterkenny.
No booking necessary, just turn up. Please prepare one short piece that you feel shows of your singing ability.

Donegal Youth Choir – Who we are…
• Established by Donegal Music Education Partnership, this vibrant choir of young singers
(DYC) continues to go from strength to strength each year.

• Under the direction of Sara Laughlin, DYC has enjoyed performances in various Donegal
venues including An Grianán Theatre, The Balor theatre & The Abbey Centre, and
nationally in The Mansion House, Dublin, NUI Maynooth, RTE Studios, Donnybrook,
and the 2014 Electric Picnic.

• This season will see DYC perform alongside the RTE National Symphony Orchestra &
Philharmonic Choir, and choirs throughout Ireland, in an exciting 1916 commemoration
event that will include newly composed music by Shaun Davey and words by poet Paul
Muldoon. Public performance in Spring of 2016 with associated radio broadcast on RTE
Lyric FM.

• Bi-weekly Sunday rehearsals in the Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny from 4 –
6.30pm.

• The first rehearsal of the new academic year takes place on the same day as the auditions,
Sunday 27 Sept, from 4 – 6.30pm, and every two weeks from then.

• Annual Membership Fee €100.00

Quotes from previous and current members:
“I have made some friends for life through Donegal Youth Choir. The concerts are class and
rehearsals are so much fun. We are so lucky to be a part of DYC”
“I am so much more confident since I joined the choir, everyone tells me that my voice has
improved lots and I love singing more and more every week. The craic is mighty too!!!”
“Since joining Donegal Youth Choir my confidence has grown so much and my singing has
improved. I feel like I am part of something very special”
“I really enjoy all of our performances and rehearsals.
We are like one big family and I feel confident to sing
out and have fun”

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