Arts News – Public panel discussion on Tom Murphy

THE life and work of Tuam-born playwright Tom Murphy is the subject of a public panel discussion in Tuam on Monday next, March 4. The free event takes place in the Mall Theatre and will start at 8 pm with a wine reception. There will be a viewing of a short segment of Alan Gilsenanâ€â„¢s film about Tom Murphy Sing On Forever. A reading from Murphyâ€â„¢s work will follow and then there will be a panel discussion including a questions and answers. The evening will be hosted by the Tuam 400 committee and the panel will be chaired by Jim Carney of The Tuam Herald. Panellists will include Dr Riana Oâ€â„¢Dwyer (a Murphy scholar), Kevin Oâ€â„¢Dwyer (Director of A Crucial Week) and Tommy Varden (raconteur extraordinaire). This evening should be the perfect start to a great week of theatre with Caveman Productionsâ€â„¢ offering of a A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocerâ€â„¢s Assistant expected to play to packed houses. Admission is free and is on a first come, first served basis. (For more on Tom Murphy and the play, see elsewhere in this issue.) Classical Meets Jazz in Gort MUSICAL and geographical borders will be crossed at next Sundayâ€â„¢s Coole Music Orchestra Festival which takes place in Gort Community Centre from 1 pm. Ten youth orchestras from North and South will be participating in the festival including the Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra under the baton of Ken Jordan and from nearer to home, the Galway Youth Jazz Orchestra under the direction of John Fleming. The award winning Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra was formed in 1993 by Ken Jordan after a series of summer courses in the Crescent arts Centre, Belfast. They have performed all over Northern Ireland and have also toured to Austria, Holland, Germany, France and Belgium. They have performed at the School Proms in 2000 and 2004 and in 2002 they won the BBC Radio 2 National Big Band Competition. The Galway Youth Jazz Orchestra was the first jazz orchestra to perform in the IAYO Festival of Youth Orchestras in the National Concert Hall. It has performed a number of impressive concerts since its inception, including a performance with Ian Shaw, Michael Buckley and the Phil Ware Trio in the Galway Jazz Festival. Festival Manager Fiona Buckley is in the final stages of preparing for the arrival of 350 young musicians to Gort for the festival which is themed Young Sounds Across Borders. â€Å“The theme of this yearâ€â„¢s festival is apt in so many ways,â€Â says Fiona. â€Å“We are crossing all kinds of borders â€â€ musical and geographical â€â€ with this yearâ€â„¢s performances. When one thinks of an orchestra what comes to mind is classical music, but this time we have orchestras playing traditional arrangements alongside classical music and even a guitar orchestra playing music composed especially for them.â€Â â€Å“For the first time in the history of the festival we will also have two jazz orchestras participating, and the evening concert finale piece, a composition by composer Katharina Baker entitled â€ËœItâ€â„¢s You!â€â„¢ is also written in the Swing genre,â€Â she said. A European premiere for the festival will be the performance of It will Turn into Memories by young Chinese composer Edwin Sung. Currently studying in Cambridge, Edwin will travel to Gort especially for the event. There are still some spaces available in the free Percussion Workshops led by Dublin percussionist Shay Lally and Galway-based Alan Preims on Saturday 2. Anyone interested in coming along should contact info@coole-music.com. Tickets for the Festival Concerts on Sunday March 3 are €10 adult, €5 child and €25 family and are available on info@coole-music.com or at the door.  Drama Festival in Roscommon NOW a much-anticipated feature of the arts centre spring programme, Roscommon Drama Festival showcases nine nights of award-winning performances by amateur groups from all over Ireland, all of who are eager to win a nomination to the All-Ireland Drama Finals. This yearâ€â„¢s festival taking place from Friday March 1 to Saturday 9 represent an exciting mix of theatre offering something for all audiences, all under the eye of adjudicator, Michael Poynor ADA. The programme listing is on www.roscommondramafestival. com. Music for Galway CD TUESDAY March 5 sees a very special instalment of the Galway Music Residencyâ€â„¢s lunchtime series in the Town Hall Theatre, with the launch of the CD Dreams & Prayers at 1.10 pm, a concert featuring clarinetist Paul Roe and The Galway Ensemble in Residence, ConTempo Quartet, performing music for clarinet, bass clarinet and string quartet. Dreams & Prayers, a very successful programme which was originally presented as part of the Music for Galway season 2009-2010, and subsequently recorded by Paul Roe and The Galway Ensemble in Residence, ConTempo Quartet, includes a specially commissioned piece by Nick Roth, Jane Oâ€â„¢Learyâ€â„¢s Soundshapes II and the work that gives the title to the CD, Argentinian Composer Oswaldo Golijovâ€â„¢s Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Also this season, for the first time, Music for Galway sends out an open invitation to all for its Membersâ€â„¢ concert on Thursday March 7 at the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway at 8 pm. It features internationally renowned soprano Lynda Lee and Andreija Malí, principal harpist with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. The concert will be followed by a reception. Tickets are €20, concession €16 and full time students pay €6. Admission to this concert is free to members of Music for Galway. If you are interested in joining as a member, contact the office at 091 705962. Percussion with a difference for kids ADVENTURES in Music welcome the enchanting magical sounds of Javanese Gamelan to St Patrickâ€â„¢s Brass Band Hall in Galway on Sunday March 3. The gamelan is a bronze percussion-based ensemble that has fascinated and inspired Western composers for over a century. Local group Gamelan na Gaillimhe which consists of 12 instrumentalists will perform a repertoire of traditional and classical Javanese music on the bronze metallophones, gongs and drums. Doors open at 2 pm.