THE CROSS Border Orchestra of Ireland says it is “thrilled” to have been asked to perform to a potential audience of 23 million people in China later this month.
It is the latest in a series of high-profile invitations extended to the orchestra whose members come from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds.
It is travelling to China to represent Ireland at the World Expo in Shanghai after being selected to do so by the Department of the Taoiseach; the invitation for the additional performance will see it play at the prestigious Oriental Arts Centre on the October 29th.
The orchestra began as a project between music teachers in Catholic and Protestant schools in Dundalk, Newry, Banbridge and Belfast and has become recognised as a leading example of how looking towards common interests can become a life-changing experience for those involved.
“I grew up in the Troubles when very few children had gone to music lessons,” said orchestra founding member Sharon Treacy-Dunne. “However, the musical instruments bought by the nuns in the St Louis school in Dundalk in the 1950s were a treasure trove to me when I returned there as a teacher in the 1990s.”
The invitation to perform a concert at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre was extended earlier this month after the directors of Shanghai Radio heard a CD of the orchestra.
The orchestra’s website is cboi.ie