The Rotary Club of Athlone will host a gala concert in aid of St Hilda’s Services tonight, Thursday, November 9, in the Radisson Hotel, Athlone at 7.30pm.
The concert will present the Combined Bands of the Defence Forces with special guest tenor Gavin Ring in an evening of military favourites and popular arias.
The Defence Forces Bands are this year celebrating their centenary and are currently presenting a similar concert in the National Concert Hall in Dublin. First formed in February 1923 the Defence Forces now have three bands with one each in Dublin, Cork and Athlone. The Athlone concert will be conducted by Captain John Carpenter, a native of Australia who recently took up the position of conductor of the 2 Brigade Band in Athlone.
Guest Artist, tenor Dr Gavan Ring, is a native of Cahersiveen, Co Kerry and is a multiple prizewinner at competitions such as the Wigmore Hall song competition and the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino. He has performed at the BBC Proms and Lucerne Festival under Sir Simon Rattle.
St Hilda’s Services are in the process of developing and building a new Community Home in Athlone for individuals with an intellectual and/or additional needs. Athlone Rotary Club has supported St Hilda’s in the past and will continue to do so as it is considered by many to be one of the most important charities in the Midlands. All proceeds from the concert will go to St Hilda’s with a small proportion going to the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF ) for needy ex-soldiers.
Tickets are priced €25 each and can be purchased online at https://eventmaster.ie/event/DoplCmAcJror or in the Radisson Blu Hotel.
