Alvin M. Keeling 
“An Evening of Song”, a singing performance concert by two local singing teachers and their students held recently at Boho Parish Church, was a great success, and is expected to become an annual event.
Cara Murphy.
Hosted by Fermanagh-born professional tenor Andrew Irwin and local singer and voice teacher David Robertson, in conjunction with the Boho Parish Church, the evening featured a range of traditional Irish, sacred and popular musical theater performances of the two professionals and their students.
Speaking to The Impartial Reporter about the success of the gig, Andrew said: “It went really well.
April McGuigan.
“There were between 60 and 70 spectators,” he added, noting that seeing that many people in Boho Parish Church was very encouraging for his singing students, many of whom had never performed solo. in front of an audience before.
“It was a great opportunity for them.”
Commenting that his students enjoyed their performances, Andrew said: ‘I have a 10-year-old student, Christina Quinn, who I don’t think has ever sung alone before, in front of anyone but mum and dad.
“She was very nervous, but in the end, I’m pretty sure she became the darling of the audience.”
Another of Andrew’s most experienced students, Cara Murphy, appreciated the opportunity to perform some of her solo repertoire that she didn’t often get to sing in front of people.
“She was singing some of the stuff from her musical theater level and they had a blast.
“There were three other students that David Robertson invited to come – Isabella Kyle, Charlotte and April McGuigan – and I had the opportunity to work with them the day before the concert, to prepare them.
“David and I separated our students and I worked with them on technique, and he worked with them on performance and interpretation,” Andrew said.
Charlotte McGuigan.
In the evening, Andrew and David treated the audience to performances.
“Impressive played”
“David played the piano and sang quite impressively, and I sang two songs from my album as well as ‘The Lost Chord’, which is a song about an organist trying to find a particular chord that he found heavenly , and who had never been able to find him.
“It’s a beautiful song, and I dedicated it to my grandmother, who passed away last year.
“For over 60 years she played organ in Boho, so I thought it was a fitting tribute,” Andrew said.
Andrew Irwin singing in front of the grateful audience.
David sang some German songs and other popular pieces.
Following the success of the An Evening Song concert, Andrew plans to return next year to make it an annual event.
Reverend Samson Ajuka, Hilary Redmond, Trevor Smith and Ian Irwin.
“There’s nothing you can trade, in terms of experience, for a live performance, and [it’s great] for me to see how my students react to a live performance and then just see how much the audience enjoys that [is the result of the hard work they put in every week].
“The end result is a nice community thing and what they do as young musicians is they give.
Basil and Freda Irwin.
“It’s not a competition, it’s an opportunity for everyone to come together and share an experience,” he told this newspaper.
Rosaleen and Ian McCoskey.
Although Andrew is busy with his own professional career as a tenor, he still has some availability to teach more students. If interested, you can contact him at: andrewirwintenor@gmail.com.
