The Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI)
•
The Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI) was established in 1995 as a means of bringing young people together from different backgrounds and communities, through the powerful medium of music. Founded at a landmark moment in Irish history, the implementation of a long-term peace-process, the orchestra is comprised of 130 young people aged 12–24 years.
The ultimate vision was to create a cross culture and cross community link between catholic and protestant school children throughout Ireland, and to educate children about commitment, tolerance and friendship through the medium of music.
Founded by Sharon Treacy-Dunne at the St. Louis Secondary school in County Louth, Sharon set about acquiring instruments to start an orchestra. As a music teacher, Sharon found out about old instruments that were in storage at the school since the late 1950’s but were in desperate need of refurbishment. With a budget of only 25 Irish pounds, the equivalent of about $60 today, Sharon raised an additional 3,500 Irish pounds and had the instruments refurbished and tuned, and turned her attention to finding kids that were interested in playing in an orchestra that did not yet exist.
The task of assembling schools interested in being part of an orchestra proved more difficult than anticipated, but following letters of invitation to 219 schools in Northern Ireland, 3 schools eventually agreed to join what was to become the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland.
In 1996 the CBOI made its first National Concert Hall of Ireland appearance followed by its first European performance in England, before traveling to the Czech Republic in 1998 and then on to Finland in 2000.
By 2000, the Departments of Education in Northern and Southern Ireland decided to unite for the Grand Millennium Project and the CBOI was invited to headline the project. The CBOI toured all major towns and cities in Ireland and were the highlighted performance.
In 2001 links were established with the South Ulster Youth Orchestra and the South Ulster Youth Band, (SELB). Rehearsals were held in Dundalk, County Louth and Drumcree, County Armagh. Over 300 young musicians were involved in this effort.
The CBOI was now expanding beyond the capacity of the St. Louis Secondary school and so in 2002, CBOI moved to the a much larger base at the Dundalk Institute of Technology, (DkIT).
For the first time, the CBOI was receiving requests from young people that did not attend the participating schools — no musical outlet was available at their school and they saw the CBOI as providing both social and educational opportunities. To-date, DkIT continues to provide the CBOI full use of their facilities for orchestra rehearsal, administrative use, and library and instrument storage completely free of charge. As a result of this generosity and the gradual success of the orchestra, by mid-2002 the CBOI was then opened to young people throughout Ireland, North and South of the border. Ongoing efforts and emphasis were placed on the non-discriminatory, all-inclusive membership process associated with the CBOI.
The success of the orchestra was further enhanced by the relationships it formed with school choirs throughout Ireland and abroad. In addition to its core membership, each year the CBOI provides essential music education for more than 5,000 children throughout the world and often fills a void where no musical outlet exists. The CBOI program incorporates children’s choirs as part of the performance in each city they visit. During the 2009 North American Tour, over 1,000 children from local communities will perform with the orchestra.
The CBOI choir program gives these children an opportunity to perform as a member of a choir; Perform in Irish and International venues with a full symphony orchestra; Work with Ireland’s top professional musicians and soloists; And, perform music of many genres, including specially commissioned works celebrating the fusion of cultures on the island of Ireland.
Having performed at all major venues in Ireland and many in Europe, the CBOI set sail for North America. Following more than 20 performances throughout California in 2002 and 2004, the CBOI then set their sights on Carnegie Hall, New York. The CBOI made its Carnegie debut in November 2005 to a sold-out audience and an astounding 6 standing ovations. A Boston Symphony Hall performance also occurred during that same tour in 2005. In 2007 the CBOI performed at Chicago Symphony Hall and to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the “Flight of the Earls”, the orchestra performed to an audience of over 2,000 at St. Ignatius Cathedral in Rome, Italy in 2008.
The Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland is one of Ireland’s flagship peace initiatives and has become the most acclaimed youth orchestra that Ireland has ever produced. With the continued success of the orchestra and the school choir program, the lives of children in the border counties and throughout Ireland, as well as the school children that have performed with the orchestra at world renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall and Chicago Symphony Hall will forever be changed.
The Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland is a celebration of youth, music and peace in Ireland for this generation and future generations. And it is the hope of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland, to empower the young people of Ireland to help their country heal, commit to this renewal and be an active participant in its transformation.
