Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cellist to cellist

It was always going to be inspirational, particularly for the cellos, to see someone who had started in their place performing as soloist with NYOI. All was going smoothly last week until our lovely soloist, Brian O'Kane, was hit down with an unfortunate 24 hour bug. You just can't plan for these things and it looked like our day of Kol nidrei rehearsals were out the window until we remembered that NYOI cellist Sinead had mentioned that she was working on Kol nidrei for a performance with the Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra later in 2012. So Sinead filled in as soloist for an afternoon of rehearsals and blew everyone - including GearĂ³id Grant away.

Thankfully, a day later, Brian was back to full health and with us for rehearsals and then for a wonderful concert. However it just reminded me that there is a silver lining to every cloud. Sinead had an incredible opportunity to work on her own performance and then to learn from an outstanding young professional.

We caught up with Sinead and Brian in conversation after rehearsals. What was caught on camera was only the tip of the iceberg as I know that the chat went on throughout dinner as Sinead quizzed Brian for advice and tips.

NYOI Brian O'Kane interview from Zoe Coakley on Vimeo.