Killeen National School has been undergoing a massive fundraiser to improve their facilities
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28 Oct 2025
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28 Oct 2025
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Pitch & Pulse piano students who gathered in the reception of the fantastic, 17th century, Castlecor House, Ballymahon for the annual Christmas Piano Concert
One of the highlights of the Longford piano year took place on Monday, December 18 as Pitch & Pulse piano students gathered in the reception of the fantastic, 17th century, Castlecor House, Ballymahon for the annual Christmas Piano Concert.
Nearly forty pianists, from recent beginners to Grade 8 pianists, treated the audience to Christmas classics including Jingle Bells, Fairytale of New York and Rudolph, as well as a couple of upbeat ragtime and jazz, exam pieces together with own choice pieces such as The Harmonious Blacksmith, Bohemian Rhapsody and Passacaglia, an abridged video of the concert is available online.
The concert opened with the seasonal canon, Dona Nobis Pacem, sung by 6 students, three of whom are members of the Cór na nÓg and Cór Lin and three members of Edgeworthstown Ballad groups.
Throughout the evening, as well as the piano, students took the opportunity to share their skills on other instruments with a lively harp piece, Milonga Para Amar, Faure's Pavane on the flute, and a brief Space Oddity guitar interlude.
The mulled wine, and homemade biscuits reception in the Great Hall of Castlecor, provided students, family, and friends a very Christmassy start to the holiday period.
"Having the annual concert enables all the students to share their work, giving the newer students an idea of where they can be next year, seeing how much they all progress over the year," said Joanna Pearman of Pitch & Pulse.
She added, "It's so rewarding to hear students playing pieces of their own choice as if they have been given a key unlocking the door to a whole new musical world."
Of course, the Christmas Concert wasn't the only important Longford piano event of 2023, as the inaugural Camlin Keys Piano Festival 2023 provided another opportunity for pianists to share their skills. Judged by a composer, and pianist recognisable to most RIAM exam students, Tamara Niekludow, over 50 students performed in one of the classes and the evening concert saw the upcoming star, Lenny Chen close the event.
The date for Camlin Keys 2024 is set for June 15, with new classes for strings. Visit the website www.camlinkeys.ie or follow on Facebook @camlinkeys to keep up with news, or get involved, camlinkeyspianofestival@gmail.com.
Joanna Pearman teaches the piano in Ardagh, Co. Longford through Pitch and Pulse on Facebook @PitchandPulse www.pitchandpulse.ie, Pitch and Pulse also offers Pure Drama, visit the website or Facebook page for updates on drama classes in your locality.
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