The University Concert Hall in Limerick was flooded with music, performances and song on Wednesday night for the annual Music and Arts evening, “Musica Vivit”. On one of the hottest days of the year, our students took to the stage and in true CCR style delivered unforgettable performances to the audience showcasing so much talent across all year groups.
A night like this is never possible without the dedication of our Music Department lead by our very talented Director of Music Mr. William Cullagh. A huge well done to Mr. Cullagh along with Ms. Olivia Lynch and Mr. Robert Soloyom from our Music Department who worked tirelessly over the past few months with the students on their performances helping them as always to reach their full potential.
The crowd were kept entertained on the night by our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Séamus Hennessy, who gave us much food for thought, great stories of years gone by and plenty of deep belly laughs. We all have to agree that our annual event in the concert hall would simply not be the same without him taking the stage.
We were delighted to be joined on the night by special guests: “Cór na Chéile” a Newcastlewest based choir under the direction of Ms. Oonagh McMahon and “Roscrea Community Choir” who are under the direction of our very own Mr. William Cullagh. Both choirs were excellent and we would like to extend a word of thanks to both choirs for taking the time to travel and be apart of the event. Thank you to our wonderful orchestra as always and we were thrilled on the night for our orchestra to be joined by Ms. Anne Phelan from the National Concert Orchestra, a true talent and great musician.
This academic year at Cistercian College, we welcomed girls to the College to join the cast of “Les Misérables” for the first time and on Wednesday night we were thrilled to welcome the girls back on stage to join the cast of Les Misérables as they performed a medley from the show that was well received by the audience.
A special presentation on the night was made to Kathy O’Halloran the Midwest Correspondent from RTÉ who will be retiring soon. The College have had the privilege of working with Kathy on several events and occasions over the years and she was always willing to show and voice the stories and news that Cistercian College had to tell. We wish Kathy a healthy and happy retirement.
A further thank you to Ms. Cody and Ms. McCormack who looked after the raffle on the night along with Ms. Aileen Spillane who looked after all of the tickets on the lead up to the show and on the night.
Finally, a special word of thanks to our Music Support Group and the members involved who work throughout the year each academic year to support and drive music and arts in the College and a word of thanks to our parents and extended CCR community for coming to support us.
Nights like we had on Wednesday, showcase the special place that music has in Cistercian College and each year we are amazed at the talent that lies amongst our year groups. We are already looking forward to next year’s event.
