The hills around Armagh city are alive with music. Sunday August 20 will see the Festival of Hymns and the opening concert at St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, and on Monday August 21 there is the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition – and that's only a quarter of it.
The 30th Charles Wood Festival of Music and Summer School brings people from around the world such is its importance within musical circles. This year composer, conductor and patron of the festival John Rutter, who recently arranged music for the Coronation Service in Westminster Abbey last May, will be in attendance.
It's been a busy few months for administrator Daniel Clements, who with his colleagues has drawn together a wide ranging programme. Although a qualified accountant and tax consultant, music has always been his preference since he was a schoolboy at Inst.
"I just felt accountancy wasn't the right thing for me and music was," he explains.
"I played piano from seven years of age but when I was 14 I discovered the organ and it has been my life since."
He is organist at St George's Parish Church in Belfast, organ scholar at St Finnian's Cregagh, has played in St Anne's Cathedral and even on the mighty Mulholland in the Ulster Hall.
"It takes a little while to get used to it but the tonal colours are very special," he says.
I found it funny that Daniel mentions colours; the organ is my favourite instrument and in both the Ulster Hall and St Peter's Cathedral I love to sit with my eyes closed, cutting out everything except hearing the sound and seeing the shades and colours come sweeping down into the audience.
WHO WAS CHARLES WOOD?
Wood was born at Vicars' Hill in Armagh almost 160 years ago. As a boy he sang in the Cathedral choir and went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London.
He became a professor of music at Cambridge University, a prolific composer especially of church music, and a co-founder of the Irish Folk Song Society. He died in 1926 and largely slipped from the scene although his music lives on and has become central to the Festival and the Summer School which offer an opportunity for people to develop skills with music, especially in worship, and all within the setting of the ecclesiastical and spiritual capital of Ireland.
The festival programme is extensive both physically and musically. This week is busy, from a training day for school teachers and choir directors at St Patrick's Catholic Cathedral to the festival of choirs in St Mark's Parish Church, a lunchtime concert in First Presbyterian church on Tuesday and a sung Mass with the Charles Wood Girls' Choir in St Malachy's Church.
You can 'Come and sing with John Rutter' on Wednesday evening, and there's a vocal masterclass with Paul Farrington in the Methodist Church on Thursday, as well as concerts, competitions, organ recitals, lectures and an open air concert of folk songs on the treelined Mall.
A full programme of events, times and venues is available at charleswoodsummerschool.org and, as Daniel Clements says, it's well worth while having a look at what's on offer. He'll be in the thick of it conducting events.
Once he finishes and waves off the international guests there will be little time for a break as it's straight into organising music for the Armagh Georgian Weekend at the end of November which celebrates the history of the city through the buildings, characters, customs and music of the latter half of the 18th century. There's a promise of the gentry out in their splendour, chestnuts roasting and mulled spices, craft and food stalls, urchins and gin-soaked ladies.
Having studied economics with French at Queen's University Belfast and a year-long communications internship in France, Daniel's musical career won out and the future is exciting. What is his ambition? "I'd really like to play the organ in the Royal Albert Hall someday." And why not.
COMMUNICATIONS
It's a long time since I dropped anyone off at City Airport and it wasn't a happy experience. Drive round two or three roundabouts, grab a parking ticket which costs £3 for 10 minutes, rush to the drop off zone, the passenger gets out, a kiss goodbye and, clutching my three single pound coins, head for the exit.
Again roundabouts abound but eventually get to the ticket machine. No place for my three coins... What to do? I tried to get out of the car to read the small screen. So close to the curb couldn't open the door.
Thankfully there was no-one behind me so I reversed, able to get out but not to read the screen easily as the print is so faint in the bright sunlight. Glasses on and squinted to discover you can only pay with cash at the drop off point so use a card. Stick in a card – declined. Had another card so tried it – declined even thought the two accounts had adequate funds available.
I don't usually tap but in desperation tried tapping and second time to my great relief the barrier opened.
Now, was I stupid? I certainly didn't see the sign about paying cash. I could see no way of calling for help had I been stuck without a card and a pile of traffic lined up behind me. There would have been no way out.
I'd go down to the airport again just to go through the routine to see if I missed something but I'm too scared of being trapped behind a barrier and in front of a dozen cars. I was lucky; I got away with it by the skin of my teeth but my advice is, take your ticket, if you want to pay with cash look for the facility at the drop off area or carry cards that tap.
My advice to the airport authorities or the ticket management team is to get some sort of talkback between driver and office so if you are stuck they can come and sort you out. Happy days.
