Competitions

This year marked the fifteenth year of The Kilkenny Music Festival, the largest of its kind in the south of Ireland. With more than 70 competitions, the choral, vocal solo, and instrumental performances featured competitors from Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Waterford and Wexford.

The festival always brings together a wide spread of ages and talents with competitions which cater for all levels and walks of life. A final Gala concert marks the end of the festival and showcases musicians chosen by the festival adjudicators from eighty winners of the festival’s competitions to perform and have the opportunity of winning the festival’s most prestigious prizes.

This year as every year we saw a large number of our talented musicians from the music programme enter the various competitions and in many cases be highly successful. Our musicians Georgia Shine, Liam and Aoibheann Smyth, Daire Maher and Ruth Kent as well as former St Canice’s pupils, Alex Lawless, Marie Therese Boland, Jenna Raggett won their competitions and perfomed onstage in the Watergate on Gala night.

Saturday 2nd March saw our sixth class musicians leave their standard guidance examinations and hop straight onto a bus with the other members of the Senior Orchestra bound for Wesley College Interschools Music Festival. The orchestra were determined to retain the Miller Cup which they were awarded in the same competition in 2012. A quick packed lunch was followed by a rehearsal and then the performance. The orchestra performed “Dambusters” directed by Ruth O’Leary and their superb performance rightfully earned them the bestowing of the Miller Cup. The cup was collected by Ruth Kent (leader) on behalf of the triumphant orchestra.