Larne Music Festivalhits the right note

The festival opened on the evening of Wednesday April 5 with a new class, which was adjudicated by Gary Lutton and very well attended, allowing young guitarists to showcase their talent.

On Thursday April 6, it was the turn of the pianists, adjudicated by Richard Yarr, to take to the stage with entries across 16 classes, and competitors playing a range of modern and classical pieces.

That evening, the traditional musicians entertained the audience, with fiddlers, harpists, pianists, tin whistlers, flautists, a concertina player and even an clarinet used to perform traditional airs.

Many of the young musicians taking part in this section were equally comfortable and skilled in playing several of the instruments in this class, with the adjudicator Niall McClean commenting that some of the musicians were so talented he could learn from them.

Friday was choral day at the festival, with choirs from many of Larne’s primary and post- primary schools taking part.

This particular event is always a major attraction for parents and festival lovers, and this year was no exception.

For the first time, St Anthony’s Primary School entered and took second place in their class.

Adjudicator Diane Creighton adjudged the overall winners in the morning session to be the choir from Fairview Primary School with their renditions of ‘Lullaby of Broadway and Colours of the Wind’.

The afternoon and evening sessions of the festival were very well attended with over 100 entries across 14 classes.

The instrumental section on Saturday, adjudicated by Dr. Joe Mc Kee included brass, strings and woodwind and provided a relaxing final day of the festival.

As ever the highlight was the festival concert compered this year by actress Olivia Nash.

The concert provided a setting for a selection of young people who had performed and competed across the four days of the festival to entertain and prove once again the wealth of talent which exists across Larne and its surroundings.

The full results for each class in the festival are available at www.larnemusicfestival.com

The festival committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all who supported and attended the events this year, and would like to remind all those interested in attending the recital by the renowned soprano Mary Nelson, taking place on the evening of July 17 at Glenarm Castle, to contact festival secretary Ann Tinsley for further information at [email protected] or by telephoning Ann at 028-28885863.