"A Brief History Of Music" Concert is a Great Success.

It could be said that this concert has been thousands of years in the making. The students of Dominican College, led by the Head of Music, Mr Terry Cloughley, took us on a journey through time, stretching back to the very origins of music and guided us through the centuries to the present day.

We hope those who managed to obtain a ticket for the full house event enjoyed the evening as much as the students who performed and we thank everyone who supported us just by coming along. Special thanks are due of course to the parents who have been ferrying their sons and daughters, not to mention musical instruments of all shapes and sizes, to and from rehearsals. We are indebted to Andrea Montgomery and the staff of the Riverside Theatre for the help and support which has made it possible to bring Dominican to the Riverside, for one night only!!

An event like this needs a lot of planning, and as little disruption as possible. Just four weeks ago our Music Department, along with Drama, PE and Pastoral Care, was subject to an Inspection from the Department of Education. The feedback we have been given was extremely positive. The standards of musicianship and singing which were experienced result from a combination of talent, dedication and enjoyment which our students share with Mr Cloughley and members of our Music Department.

We would like to particularly thank Miss Claire Adams who joined us in September and Miss Ann Dempsey, who is completing her teaching practice under the guidance of Mr Cloughley, for the ways they have been working with our students over the past months and towards the final performance. It is also especially pleasing to see three of our former students, Steven Iveson, Richard Campbell and Robbyn Atcheson use their gifts and talents to support a new generation of Dominican musicians.

Traditional Music has been a feature of recent Dominican concerts and we are really indebted to Mr Kieran Convery, our Head of Technology, whose skills as a fiddle player and teacher are helping develop this aspect of musicianship. Mr Gerry Lynch is more at home with a computer keyboard than a musical one but his work behind the scenes has been important in co-ordinating this performance.

What can be said about DCP’s Head of Music, Mr Terry Cloughley? He is an inspirational teacher who strives for the highest standards for his students. He has an enthusiasm and energy for his work with students which is both motivational and encouraging. The concert is the culmination of a dream which he has turned into reality.

“A Brief History of Music” has been made possible by staff but above all it belonged to our students. It began with the pulsating sounds of tribal drums, the first percussive instrument. Next in the line up was the senior choir performing the plain chant, Ave Maria, first in unison, and then in harmony reflecting how music was evolving over the years.

The concert programme covered many different genres of music from renaissance to 20th century and had something for everyone. Many different styles of music were demonstrated and the talents we store here in Dominican were shown at their best.

The various choirs such as junior, senior and harmony groups performed various different pieces throughout the concert and showed versatility in what the music students in our very own school are capable of. It also let the sixth form students leaving this year know that the junior choir members have the ability to live up to the high standards set by previous members and they will no doubt carry the torch for the Dominican choirs into the future.

The Junior Traditional group’s set included the earliest folk tune recorded in notation form but it may be much older. This tune is called “Callino”, (“I am a girl from beside the River Suir”) which was first published in a book called “William Ballet’s Lute Book” in 1584. The set also included a tune composed by the famous blind harpist, Turlough O’Carolan, called “Blind Mary” as well as a few old traditional jigs and marches.

The second half of the concert moved on to a more modern approach to music and contained many more 20th century pieces and styles. The blues group showed skills that many didn’t know existed in Dominican and let the audience again see that the music department here has a very wide repertoire and are capable of anything.

World influences on music was excellently displayed with some “Cubano” (Lancen) music played by the duet of Conor O’Kane and Adam Leonard on the piano.
This was followed by some Jazz which was a special feature of the half with a fantastic rendition of “Three Little Maids From School” sung by Adele Stevenson, Alicia Lagan and Natalia Morelli.

The Senior Traditional Group’s set contained more modern Irish traditional music pieces and the arrangement of these took us back only a few years to memories of ‘Riverdance’ with it’s upbeat tempo and use of harmonies and drones throughout the set. A special mention goes to Doireann McCombe who played her final concert with the Senior Traditional group and what a way to finish with a few marvellous solos by her.

A taste of modern music was given to us via an arrangement entitled “The Musicals”. Congratulations to our soloists Niaomh Rodgers, Rachel Annett and Eimear Boyle who excelled here.

The penultimate piece was provided by the Form 4 GCSE music class who performed their version of Queen’s greatest hit, “We are the Champions” to represent the Pop era. With an amalgamation of musical instruments and voice, this piece was a fantastic collaboration of individual skills and group work.

The concert finished with two pieces from Karl Jenkin’s “Songs of Sanctuary”. The senior choir, percussion group and other instrumentalists really ended the concert with a bang and allowed the audience to leave the theatre feeling that they had just seen professionals on the stage.