Drumming Workshop with Stevie Shanks

Castlereagh Arts was proud to offer his residents a great opportunity to improve their musical dexterity and have a bit of fun on a drumming taster session with Stevie Shanks!

Stevie Shanks is the drummer for Flash Harry, the UK and Europe’s best known Queen tribute band who has been playing for more than 20 years to audiences from Belfast to Atlantic City and Dublin to Dubai.

He came to Castlereagh to give our drum aficionados some hot tips and a valuable insight into drumming. He explained the aspiring drummers the basics in playing the drum, and then everyone gave it a try…

Mabel was very enthusiastic and didn’t want to leave the seat to the next participant, Sean, James and Betty were brilliant, and even our very own Arts Assistant Priscilla gave it a go! The participants didn’t want to leave the Civic centre…they all agreed that one-hour taster session was too short and they suggested to have another drumming session which would last at least two hours! We’ll see what we can do, and we’ll keep you posted…

                               

A School that Rocks!!

Another year, another great Rock & Pop School! Every year Castlereagh Borough Council in partnership with Castlereagh Community Safety Partnership and SEELB offers young people the opportunity to be involved in music classes with professional musicians and tutors. Now on its 9th edition, the Rock & Pop School proves to be an enriching experience and a great opportunity for young aspiring musicians!

The first week was dedicated to the Advanced group, a group of young experienced musicians who formed 4 bands and wrote and recorded 2 songs each! The second week was Beginners’ week, for the less experienced musicians…they formed 3 bands and recorded one song each…this year we had also one group from Dreamscheme taking part in the second week, they were great! The tutors from Making Music Workshop, among whom we had John Wilson, Linley Hamilton and Simon McBride, did a great job helping out the bands in writing the songs and stimulating them in practicing continuously in order to improve and perform better.

After two weeks of hard work, the big day arrived: the bands had to perform on Friday 5th August at Belvoir Players Studio. There was some nervousness, stage fright and excitement in the air! The Mayor of Castlereagh thanked everyone for their efforts and for having put so much in the Rock & Pop weeks; Linley Hamilton was the official compere of the afternoon, introducing the bands and telling the audience some funny jokes about the Rock & Pop weeks. Here’s the line-up of the concert:

- Acoustic Haze with Clear your Mind and Robot

- Greedy Eye with But it’s You

- Swallion Battalion with Life isn’t Easy

 

- Elemno P with Good Day

- No Vacancy with Don’t and My Downfall,

- Switch it Off with Tonight and Cos you Said,

- The Royal Scam with Fire and Hypnotized

 

 

 

In addition, one of the talented young musicians, Chris Rooney, surprised us all with a cover song by Rory Gallagher, one of his favorite musicians.

The concert was a great success, all the young Rock & Poppers performed brilliantly like professional musicians! The audience was really impressed and couldn’t stop clapping! Everyone left Belvoir Players super satisfied and with a smile on their face, still humming some tunes they listened to in the concert…

Ulster Scots Festival in the Borough

What’s Ulster Scots?

 

Castlereagh Community Culture Forum is proud to celebrate their very first Ulster Scots Festival. The festival will run from 5th to 9th July and will include various arts and music events, lectures and opportunities for people to learn, participate, and debate on what Ulster Scots Culture is all about.

Opening Night: Debate, Story-telling and Music

Question Time: What’s Ulster Scots?

A select panel discuss and help to clarify the meaning of Ulster-Scots

language and culture, followed by Storytelling

with Liz Weir and Music by Skullduggery

 

Castlereagh Borough Council Civic and Function Suite

Tuesday 05/07/11 6.30 – 10.00 pm

 

Cookery Demonstration

Insightful and fun way of learning about local cookery!

Downshire Hall, Weds 06/07/11 2.00 - 4.00 pm

Mural Project

An opportunity for younger people to work with local artist Andrew Cooke

to create Ulster Scots images, and turn them into a mural.

 

Downshire Hall, Weds 06/07/11 4.00 pm

Nursery Rhymes and Street Games

with Michael Copeland MLA

Michael discusses the history and origins of street games, nursery rhymes,

the language used and their significance in contemporary culture.

 

Braniel Church, Weds 06/07/11 6.30 - 7.30 pm

Film Screening: ‘The December Bride’

by Sam Hanna Bell

A presentation of the film The December Bride in association with the Classic Film Club.  A powerful and challenging film set in the beautiful environs of Strangford Lough.

 

Braniel Community Centre, Weds 06/07/11 8.00 pm

Tartan Display and Discussion

with Dr Clifford Smyth

Carryduff, Lough Moss Centre, Thursday 07/07/11 5.30- 6.30 pm

 

Music of Ulster & Scotland

A lecture featuring live musical performance from local Fife, Drum and Flute bands,

exploring the history and roots of Ulster and Scottish marching music.

Clonduff Community Centre, Thursday 07/07/11 7.30-9.30 pm

Rhythmic Roots feat. Anthony Toner,

Liam Logan and Wilson Burgess

A fun and innovative approach to story telling and poetry.

Anthony Toner, Liam Logan, and Wilson Burgess will be fusing music with the spoken word.

 

Enler Centre Ballybeen, Friday 08/07/11 1.30 - 3.00 pm

 

The Secret Listeners of Gilnahirk

by George Busby

Local historian and WW2 enthusiast George Busby delivers an insightful lecture

 on the secret listening post in Gilnahirk, which played a vital role for the allied forces during the war.

 

Friday 8th July 3.30 - 4.30pm

Highland and Irish Dance Workshop

with Bright Lights

Tullycarnet Community Centre, Friday 08/07/11 5.00-7.00pm

Mary Ryan & Mark Braidner in Concert

Gospel Blues singer Mary Ryan and Roots blues singer and guitarist Mark Braidner perform Delta Blues and Gospel ballads as well as some traditional Irish and Scottish songs which travelled to the States and changed from Sean Nós to Ragtime; Music-Hall to Vaudeville and Bible Songs to Gospel Blues Ballads.

Tullycarnet Community Centre, Friday 8/07/11 7.30

Family Fun Day

(funded by PeaceIII &The Ulster Scots Agency)

Bouncy Castles, Arts & Crafts, Music and much, much, more. A real day of fun for all the family. Watch out for Willie Drennan and his merry band of musicians. A civic fire will be lit at 8.30pm and music from a variety of bands will be played throughout the day.

Cregagh Estate, Saturday 09/07/11 4.00 – 10.00 pm

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE!!

PLEASE COME ALONG AND SUPPORT THESE LOCAL EVENTS!

First (well, actually second…) Friday June: Linley Hamilton Quartet in concert

Renowned jazz musician Linley Hamilton and his quartet delighted our audience on a landmark First Friday performance. The concert has been the highlight of the Castlereagh Arts Summer programme thus far, as the quartet has just released their new album and they were on tour to promote it.

Described as ‘a trumpeter whose playing combines formidable technical expertise with verve and passion’, Linley Hamilton entertained the audience with his brisk Dublin-based Quartet with Johnny Taylor at the piano, Dan Bodwell at the bass and Dominic Mullan on drums. The set was drawn from hard hitting contemporary tunes such as Woody Shaw’s ‘Rosewood’, to adaptations of ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ and Abbey Lincoln’s ‘Throw It Away’. The new album is called ‘Taylor Made’ as it was highly influenced by the pianist Johnny Taylor.

There were more than 25 people attending the gig and several council staff were drawn in the function suite by the quality of the music.

This first ‘First Friday Concert’ of our summer season was a great success and we want to thank the great musicians that made it happen! Our next performance, in July we have the pleasure of hosting another fantastic musician, Anthony Toner, who is going to perform songs from the album ‘Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon’ by James Taylor, celebrating the album’s 40th anniversary…a different Taylor but still great music!

Don’t miss it out!

Dundonald Community Concert Band

Castlereagh Borough-based Dundonald Community Concert Band (DCCB) had a beautiful sunny day for playing at the Dundonald Primary School Summer Fair on Saturday 4th June 2011 - now an annual gig in the events calendar! DCCB donated their time to provide background music while everyone browsed around the car boot sale, took part in the activities from archery to climbing walls, or were just tempted by all the tasty treats! DCCB will be playing at Killinchy Primary School Summer Fair this Friday evening (10th June) from 7pm to 9pm so come along and join in the fun!
Visit http://www.dccb.co.uk/ for more details of the band or if you are interested in joining - we're always on the lookout for enthusiastic new recruits!

 See DCCB play at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHu20FZ9xw&feature=related

Beauty and Art in the Lock Keepers' Inn

Colours and Brushwork fill in the Lock Keepers’ Inn…

Following the launch of his new exhibition in Dundonald Library last month, the artist Paul Gray gave two workshops in order to teach his skills and his colourful art. On Saturday 7th and 21st May the artist tutored two visual art workshops in the lovely and inspirational location of the Lock Keepers’ Inn.

Paul Gray is a self-taught local artist, who explores the medium of acrylics through the use of colours and his imagination. His artistic reference points are Impressionism, Fauvism and Expressionism, even though the most important thing for him as an artist is the opportunity to experiment with colors.

 

The workshops were open to beginners and people who wanted to experiment and try to paint with acrylics. In all, 7 wannabe artists took part and they left happy with their own versions of the Lockkeepers Cottage, and ‘Samson & Goliath’ the famous Harland and Wolff cranes. Paul put his own impressionistic slant on both iconic landscapes and helped the pupils to structure their paintings. He encouraged them to experiment with colours and textures, imparting confidence and bravery in the strokes.

 

In all a pleasant and relaxing few May afternoons were enjoyed by all, and we hope that this will serve to encourage artists to utilize the idyllic settings of ‘The Lockkeepers Inn’ and the surrounding area in the future.

Dundonald Community Band Play Stormont

Castlereagh Borough-based Dundonald Community Concert Band (DCCB) was delighted to be involved in yesterday's Stormont Family Fun day in aid of Children in Need. The weather just about held out as the brass, woodwind and percussion band played a broad range of favourites including Disney's 'The Lion King', Chicago's 'All That Jazz' and the toe-tapping 'Tijuana Brass'. The music was well-received by all! DCCB look forward to their next gig at Dundonald Primary School this Saturday 4th June 2011 - playing from 12noon to 2pm. Come along and join us! Visit http://www.dccb.co.uk for more pictures of yesterday's event and details of our upcoming gigs!