Audition for chance to star with Irwin
A chance to perform on the same stage as a West End singer and the Army Band is the prize up for grabs at a talent competition with a local charity.
The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) has secured the services of musical theatre star Mark Irwin and the Army’s Band 2 Brigade, Athlone, and rising Mullingar talent Nathan Daly, for a concert at Mullingar Arts Centre on March 28.
Rosemary Rice of the IWA said there is a slot reserved on the night for the winner of a talent competition being run in the lead-up to the big night.
The competition is open to everyone, and it is being conducted by way of auditions, and not in front of an audience. The entry fee is €10, and all sorts of acts are welcome. The closing date is February 8, and entrants should email: charityauditions@hotmail.com.
Parents will be welcome to accompany any U18s participating, and the U18 auditions will be held separately to the adult ones. The judges are to be Lorcan Daly and Captain Tom Kelly from the Army Band.
The concert on March 28 promises to be a big occasion, and is part of the range of events being organised to raise funds for a new bus for the IWA.
“The cost of the bus is €57,000,” said Rosemary, adding that they now have around €40,000 raised, with a recent table quiz having boosted the fund by €1,600 and a sale of work before Christmas having boosted the coffers by around €2,500.
The bus will be used to collect the 15-20 people who attend the Wheelchair Association day centre at the Springfield Centre in Mullingar, which runs four days a week; and to take them to appointments or engagements.
Mark Irwin is from Mullingar and who was part of the ‘The Commitments’ cast at the Palace Theatre in the West End, and who has been part of the groups ‘The 12 Tenors’ and ‘Celtic Nights’.
The Army’s Band 2 Brigade, Athlone performs a wide range of military, state and civilian engagements each year and is recognised as being an integral part of the cultural life of Ireland.
The Band has the distinction, unique among the Irish military bands of having served a six-month tour as part of a United Nations mission (UNFICYP – Cyprus) in 1965.
During that tour the band played at more than 100 events for the Greek and Turkish communities on the island. Also uniquely, it was the first Defence Forces band to perform in the United Kingdom when it played at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. More recently the Band’s visits abroad include performances at festivals, parades and tattoos in France, Lebanon and Belgium.