BAND PERFORM WITH ABBEY SINGERS IN SPRING CONCERT
An evening of wonderful music
performed to a full house in the splendid main hall of the University
of Ulster at Jordanstown was held on Saturday 19th April 2008. The concert
featured the Abbey Singers, under their conductor, Brian Agus along with
accompanist, Donald Blair, with guest artistes, international singing
star, Eugene O'Hagan (Tenor) with his accompanist Daniel O'Neill and the
band under conductor, Des Graham. The Abbey Singers Eugene O'Hagan - Tenor Third Carrick Band No 1 Spot The band would like to thank the Abbey Singers for the
invitation to play at this prestigious concert and send our best wishes
for the future.
The Abbey Singers have performed all over Ireland and is now in it's 38th
year and it's repertoire includes sacred and secular music, serious and
light, old and new, straightforward and more challenging from near and
far. Conductor Brian Agus, now in his 4th season with the Abbey Singers,
however, has almost a lifetime's experience having first been appointed
choirmaster, at the age of 23, of a church in his native West Yorkshire.
Originally a school teacher, he came to Northern Ireland to join the teaching
staff of the Belfast School of Music, where he was the first head of singing
and from where he conducted choirs from school level upwards, including
the Belfast Chorale in the choir of the year competition televised nationwide
on BBC2. From 1993 he was Director of Music Services for the South Eastern
Education and Library Board, until his early retirement in 2004. His choir
training is informed by his considerable early experience as a tenor soloist.
He is an occasional organist in his local church, has adjudicated all
over Ireland and examines regularly for the Royal Irish Academy of Music
in Dublin. In the summer he umpires cricket.
After several years of study with the late Frank Capper (Belfast) and
maestro Sergio Ballani (Rome), guest soloist, tenor Eugene O'Hagan has
become a well known exponent of oratorio and art song and is no stranger
to concert and opera-going audiences in Belfast and Dublin. He counts
most of the mainstream oratorio roles in his repertoire. More recent platform
performances include the title role in Bizet's early opera "Dr Miracle"
with Castleward Opera and Dublin based Lyric Opera's production of "La
Traviata". Future engagements include "Carmina Burana"
in Dublin and a Lyric Opera production of "The Magic Flute".
The band, fresh from their recent success in competition, were featured
in 3 spots in the programme and performed a varied and entertaining selection
of music which was well received by the audience. The music played by
the band is noted below:
March: The Champions - Major G H Willcox
Cornet solo: Lazy River - Hoagey Carmichael
arr. Alan Morrison - Soloist: Ruth Montgomery
A String of Pearls - Gerry Gray
No 2 Spot
Introduction to Act III "Lohengrin"
- Richard Wagner arr. Dr. Denis Wright
Flugel Horn Solo: Magh Seola - Gerard Fahey
arr. Sandy Smith - Soloist: Ruth Binding
Oklahoma - Richard Rodgers arr. Alan Catherall
No 3 Spot
Cornet Trio: Trumpets Wild - Harold Walters
Horn Solo: Somewhere Over A Rainbow - Arlen/Harburg
arr. Goff Richards
Soloist Michael Montgomery
And The Band Played On - Ward/Palmer arr. Goff
Richards
