Ballina’s Ronan Quinn and The NCF Cultural Co-Operative have come together to bring the unique, and often crazy, The Totally Made Up Orchestra to Ballina for the first time, taking place as part of this year’s Ballina Fringe Festival, which opens this weekend.
Musicians and music lovers of any age, any instrument and any ability are invited to become part of the beautiful, monster music machine and phenomenon that is The Totally Made Up Orchestra, a community music-making project under the direction of the inspirational Brian Irvine.
Brian is an Ivor Novello award-winning Northern Ireland composer who has collaborated and made works with artists from vastly different disciplines, including Seamus Heaney, Primal Scream, David Holmes, Joanna MacGregor and U2.
Guided by the inspirational Brian, you will devise, create and perform a completely new work from scratch over the course of just a few hours. And it doesn’t matter if you have been playing for years or minutes, or if you are 9 or 90. If you can read music, that’s great. But, if you don’t read music, that’s even better! All you need to become part of this amazing ensemble is a desire to be heard, a desire to play with other people, an open mind and a big creative heart.
Anyone who has previously taken part in The Totally Made Up Orchestra has found it a joyous, uplifting and unforgettable experience.
The pre-performance workshop takes place in the Kennedy Glasgow Centre, The Quay, Ballina on Sunday next, October 6 from 10am to 1pm, followed by a live, half-hour show in the same venue at 2pm that same afternoon. The public show will be a free, but ticketed event.
Workshop places are limited and the organisers are looking for a spread of age groups from 9 years of age and upwards. To express an interest in joining the orchestra visit www.ballinafringefestival.ie or see the Mayo Arts Office Facebook page. Participants must bring their own instruments, where necessary, including amps, etc for electronic instruments.
The project is funded by a Creative Ireland Community Grant and Mayo County Council.
The 2024 Ballina Fringe Festival takes place from October 4 to 13.
