A Piece of the Action

After winning standing ovations from here to the US and beyond, the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland is now under serious financial pressure, writes Arminta Wallace

ON A SUNDAY afternoon the campus of the Dundalk Institute of Technology is a tranquil place. In the background are the Cooley Mountains and, beyond, the Mournes. The horizon of the campus itself is dominated by a wind turbine which generates some 60 per cent of the college’s electricity needs as it turns in a slow, majestic circle. Inside the college’s theatre building, however, all is hustle and bustle and excited chatter. In a corridor, young people are lined up clutching passports plus blue forms and green forms. A young man wearing a Hendrix T-shirt hurries past, a trombone tucked under his elbow. Around the corner, a girl is doing twirly cheerleader-type things with a set of drumsticks.

These are the members of the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland. They’re from both sides of the Border, they’re aged between 12 and 24, and they’re rehearsing for their forthcoming concerts in the Helix in Dublin and the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

After that, they’re off to the Big Apple to play at the home of the New York Philharmonic, Lincoln Center. In the meantime, they’re clearly having a ball. But that doesn’t mean they’re getting off lightly on the musical front. Inside the theatre itself, the orchestra’s chief conductor Gearoid Grant is on the warpath. “Never mind laughing when you should have been practising,” he tells his second violins. “Next week I’m DEFINITELY gonna ask you individually. Right. Riverdance, section D. Let’s go.”

•
For the full article visit Irish Times.com.