Irish Association of Youth Orchestras

Carlow Youth Orchestra with Bray and Greystones Youth Orchestra

This year, members of Carlow Youth Orchestra were fortunate enough to go on a trip to Belgium, in collaboration with Greystones Youth Orchestra. We got the chance to perform in a concert in Auvelais, and visited many very interesting places, such as Bruges.

We had an early start on Thursday, 12 April, when our bus departed from Carlow at 04:15 in the morning, having only returned from a concert at midnight the night before! We left from Dublin airport and our plane landed in Charleroi Airport at 10:25. Our hotel was nearby. We then had a practice in the concert hall of Auvelais, and went to bed very tired that night!

The next day we went to Namur, the capital city of Wallonia. We got to visit the Citadel, the Perfume Shop and went on a sightseeing train. It was a very interesting experience. We then went back to our hotel, and got ready for our concert in Auvelais. It was a brilliant concert, with not only music but excellent singing and dancing. We celebrated afterwards by going to a disco, which proved to be very popular with all involved!

On Saturday we went on a walking tour of Bruges. We got to see some very interesting buildings and landmarks, visited a chocolate factory, and went for a cruise on the canals. It was a very enjoyable day, and we all went to bed with heavy hearts that night, knowing we would be going home on Sunday morning!

Our trip to Belgium was a brilliant one that we’ll never forget. Not only did everyone have an amazing time, playing in concerts and exploring Belgium, we made many new friends from Greystones. Thank you so much to everyone who made this such an incredible experience for the orchestra!

Ailbhe Kehoe (Carlow Youth Orchestra)