Athlone Rotary and Army Band team up for fundraising concert next week

Fresh from a recent performance at the National Concert Hall, the Combined Bands of the Defence Forces will appear in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, on Thursday next, November 13, at 7.30pm in a concert organised jointly by Athlone Rotary and the Defences Forces.

The annual concert this year is primarily in aid of the Athlone Special Olympics Club. The young athletes of the Special Olympics are currently in training for next year's national finals and are in need of new gear and equipment to assist their preparation.

Under their conductor, Capt William Chester, the band will perform a wide and varied programme of popular music to please all tastes.

This year’s guest artist is Dublin based mezzo-soprano, Gemma Ni Bhriain, who has performed here in Ireland and throughout Europe in various operatic roles.

The Pipes of the Defence Forces School of Music, playing solo or with the band, are always very popular and will also make an appearance.

Billy Nott, President of the Rotary Club of Athlone, said the town was very lucky to be one of the few locations in the country where the Combined Bands of the Defence Forces perform, and the public will have a chance to savour the very high standard of musicality that the bands have achieved.

The concert organised by Athlone Rotary and the Defence Forces has become a popular annual event, and in the past two years St Hilda's Services and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association were the chosen beneficiaries.