Canberra Theatre Centre in association with the Royal Military College host the Music at Midday Concerts six times a year, with proceeds supporting many local charities. This celebration of the Big Band sound has grown from its humble beginnings and now attracts hundreds of Canberra residents at each performance.
The lunchtime concerts, held at 11am and 12.30pm showcase the talents of the RMC Band and presented with Canberra Theatre Centre provides an opportunity to give something back to the community. Entry to the concerts is by gold coin donation, with all proceeds going to a local charity.
(Taken from the Canberra Theatre website)
What do Guinness, Waterford Crystal, Robert Boyle and the Irish Ambassador have to do with Music at Midday? Well, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Guinness, the band decided to hold an Irish style concert and invite the Ambassador along. They talked about all things Irish, and many things that were not, as they joked, laughed and played their way through the concert.
The band played two national anthems, not one and some great pieces: An Irish Rhapsody, St Patrick’s Day March, Finnegan’s Wake and Riverdance. Joined by a male soloist, some ballads were sung: "What would I be?" "What’s in a Kiss?" and "Danny Boy", all adding to the Irish flavour.
Toward the end of the program was a surprising number : "The Irish Blessing". This sort of item should be expected but I’ll explain why it touched me. During the concert, the versatility of this group easily became apparent and several musicians changed instruments and positions within the ensemble. When they reached the blessing, they stood as one, instruments down and sang accapella, with some nice harmonies. I wasn’t prepared for that and it was just lovely.
We enjoy going to these concerts as the conductor has a great rapport with the audience and the band shows how much they love their music and performing it for us.
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