Rockwell Orchestra Host ‘Playing For the Fun of It’

The Youth Orchestra Collaboration Grant scheme seeks to encourage collaboration among youth orchestras in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, you can read more about the scheme here. The 2023 recipients are Limerick School of Music Senior Orchestra (LSOM), Rockwell Music Academy, the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s Sing Out With Strings and St Agnes’ Community Centre for Music and the Arts (CCMA) Chamber Orchestra.

Rockwell Orchestra collaborated with Banna Chluain Meala from Tipperary and SETU Music School Orchestral Groups from Waterford. Rockwell Orchestra’s proposal was to bring as many musicians together under one roof with no other premise than to play for fun.

On Saturday, 18 November Rockwell College hosted ‘Playing for the Fun of It’. They were joined by instrumentalists from SETU Music School and Banna Chluain Meala to play a specially commissioned arrangement of the song Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo. The day started with some warm-up exercises led by Jayne, Derek and Suzanne from Rockwell Music Academy. The musicians then divided into sectional rehearsals to work on the music arranged by Eoin O’Keeffe. Then it was time for a snack break and a photo shoot. The day ended with a full rehearsal conducted by Eoin.

It was an excellent opportunity for young musicians to make new friends and collaborate with players from around the country. The video of the day is now available to watch on Rockwell Orchestra’s Facebook page.