Radio Broadcast on RTÉ Radio One
by Trevor Johnston
The ringing in of the new year live on RTE Radio One went terrifically for the Drogheda Brass Band, who were approached by RTE's Donncha O'Dualing to perform live after he attended a concert in early December.
As part of our first performance as a result of our Skoda patronage, we played three pieces live in St. Peter's Church in West Street, Drogheda. Donncha was suitably impressed with our Best of Brass concert in early December, especially the fact that it was, as always, totally free, and invited us to play on the New Year's Eve Concert. A small, "select" crowd were present in the church to hear us and the Cecilian Singers, who performed Auld Lang Syne along with some other pieces.
At about twenty past eleven, we played "Sleigh Ride", a suitably seasonal piece which seemed to be well received. Just after midnight we played through "Amazing Grace", and a little later we rounded off our evening with "There's No Business Like Show Business". After that, we recorded an Irish piece called "The Palatine's Daughter", which may or may not be played on Donncha's show in the near future.
All in all, the night was a great success. This is the first time any band has been asked to play on national radio for quite some time, we hope we do not have to wait so long for our next appearance. It's a shame that there's not more band programmes on radio and television considering the number of bands and people involved, both here and in England, and this might be the first step towards greater band coverage in the national media.