Ardee Concert Band had a very successful recording session on 24th and 25th of April 2009 when they recorded seventeen of their favourite pieces for their first ever CD.
With the bands many successes over the past 27 years, many supporters and audiences have asked where they could get a band CD so the idea has been in the pipeline for many years but the band just never got around to doing it.
Komodo Recordings, who specialise in recordings of bands and choirs, were contracted to come to the Bohemian Centre in Ardee to do the recording. Ardee Band PRO Fiona Reilly said that it was a big project to work on as members had to commit to 10 hours of recording over a weekend, 3 hours on Friday night and 7 hours on Saturday. As well as that, members had to be available for intensive rehearsals in the lead up to the recording.
When the thirty eight band members came to the Bohemian at 7pm on the Friday, they couldnt believe how the hall had been transformed into a real live recording studio. There was a microphone beside every member so that the sound technician could blend every members performance to create the perfect sound.
This was also a new experience for band conductor Harry Kelly who took to the job like he had been doing it all his life.
Everyone involved felt it was a great experience and they cant wait to hear the finished product which should be available by the end of June.
Arts In Action, Townley Hall, 31st May 2009
The bands next public performance will be at the Arts in Action festival which will be held over the June Bank Holiday weekend in Townley hall just outside Drogheda, Ardee Band will be playing on Sunday 31st May at 3.30pm.
Grade Exams
May is always a busy time for tutors in the band and this year is no exception. We have 55 members taking the grade exams of the Royal Irish Academy of Music on 11th and 12th of May and the future of the band looks bright when we have twenty-two sitting grade 1, eleven sitting grade 2, ten sitting grade 3, three sitting grade 4, seven sitting grade 5, one sitting grade 6 and 1 sitting grade 8. All of these are on the following instruments:- flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium and percussion.