Best job in the world!
Last year was my 12th time attending the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Bantry. It all started in 2009, when I realised how close I was to the magnificent Bantry House from where the concerts were broadcast. Then it became an annual highlight – visiting my friend in Kealties, going for long walks, nice meals out, and going to as many concerts as I could fit in. In 2019, I told my friend Jean that I was tempted to volunteer. I was getting so much joy from the magic atmosphere around the festival in Bantry, that I felt I had to give something back. So when the call for volunteers came that autumn, I replied.
During the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the Festival moved online, but we continued going to Bantry each summer. My friend Jean passed away in 2021 and she is terribly missed.
In 2022, although in a less than perfect shape, I answered enthusiastically to the volunteers appeal, and one day I opened an email to find out I had been appointed Lead Usher in Bantry House. Never felt more honoured by an appointment in my whole life! That meant I had to be there for all the concerts over the 10 days – not an easy feast! Ray, my better half, got sucked in as well, as we were staying up in the hills and we had a 15min drive to get to Bantry. Covid was still taking a toll, and people were testing positive, concerts had to be cancelled, replaced, moved around. In order to deal with the situation and cater for smaller audiences, there were afternoon, evening and late night concerts scheduled in both Bantry House and St. Brendan’s Church – a really difficult enterprise. It was an amazing experience, being immersed in chamber music all day long, but when we got home after 10 days, we almost needed another holiday!
This year, I felt a lot more mobile after getting a new hip, so we volunteered again! This time, we chose to put ourselves forward for a week of Coffee Concerts (11am) and a few Late Night ones (10pm). And we booked all the concerts we really wanted to enjoy early in March, so that we could sit in the audience with no worry in the whole world!
Having all the concert and masterclass venues within a short walking distance transforms the whole town into an event venue, familiar strangers start saluting each other, and the last two days are difficult as we know the better the music gets, the closer the end.
One of the most spectacular events was a fringe event in St. Barrahane’s Church, Castletownshend, near Skibbereen. In fairness, we only went out there to see the Harry Clarke’s stained glass windows. We had no idea where this choir- Tiffin’s Boys Choir– was coming from and we had no expectations. What an amazing surprise! And St. Barrahane’s Church has its own music festival, happening every year! A pity it’s so far way for us!
Honestly, this is an old draft that I didn’t manage to post last year, otherwise I would give you hundreds of other details! Its purpose is to recommend volunteering with the festival. It is a fabulous experience to contribute a bit of time to this huge effort which takes a year – but sometimes more than a year – to make it happen. I am a great chamber music lover, but nowhere else I have seen such an innovative programme, such a juxtaposition of old and new, such a high quality audience experience year after year. The soul and the brain of West Cork Music is Francis Humphrys, the festival director, supported by a fantastic team with an exquisite attention to detail.
Thanks to their bold initiative, there’s a plan for creating a Music Centre in Bantry, as a venue for the three festivals taking place here, but also as a venue for all year round community events. I don’t know if it will happen during our life time, but I am delighted to be able to support it.
And guess what? We booked our tickets and we are already looking forward to this year’s edition! And of course, you’ll find us volunteering!
April 24 2023 09:24 pm | Limerick