Tonight, the curtain will close on the final show of Coolera Dramatic Society’s 40th consecutive pantomime. This year alone, in a town with a population of 20,000,… Read more “How do you create an institution?”
Month: December 2018
Learning from others.
I read today that one New Year’s Resolution you should make for 2019 is to surround yourself with people who know more than you, or people who… Read more “Learning from others.”
The end-of-term show
If you are a parent, and your child has ever learned a musical instrument, danced, practiced gymnastics, gone to speech and drama classes, or even just gone… Read more “The end-of-term show”
All set?
It’s a great feeling. Being all set. The last rehearsal done, the setlist finalised, the music in order. All that’s left to do is play the gig,… Read more “All set?”
The Hawk’s Well Theatre
On this stage I have carried bales of hay, sung and played Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (with full band and orchestra!), soloed a size 5 and… Read more “The Hawk’s Well Theatre”
Over the hump
Every year in the panto run there comes a hump. It’s when people get tired, when the novelty of performing has worn off and the excitement of… Read more “Over the hump”
Sinead
If I was to hazard a guess – out of all the musicians I have played with in my life, I have gigged more with Sinead Conway… Read more “Sinead”
Why are there so few women in bands?
Just over 1 in 5 TDs (elected members of our national parliament in Ireland) are female. I played some music at an event today to commemorate 100… Read more “Why are there so few women in bands?”
Owls and reputations
One of my favourite episodes of Winnie the Pooh contains a scene where Christopher Robin leaves a note for his friends saying that he would be back… Read more “Owls and reputations”
Presents
I have been lucky, in my role as piano teacher, to receive many presents from students over the years. You can see one of my favourites in… Read more “Presents”