Galway Advertiser 1994/1994_06_16/GA_16061994_E1_034.pdf 

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ENTERTAINMKNTI

Anuna Play Benefit for Chernobyl Children on June 23rd
Anuna, the brilliant Irish choral ensemble, have shot to national prominence ever since Bill Whelan's stirring "Riverdance", on which they sang the haunting initial section, was premiered during the recent Eurovision Song Contest.
Fans of both " R i v e r d a n c e " and Anuna will be delighted t o hear that the group will be giv ing a special concert in St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church on Thursday. June 23rd. at 8.00 p . m . . in aid of the Chernobyl Homeopathic Fund. Since the groups foundation by the young Dublin composer Michael McGlynn. Anuna have dedicated themselves to the rediscovery and contemporary interpretation of the ancient music of Ireland and the other Celtic countries. The material that they sing coven eleven cen turies, taking in everything from medieval chants to the haunting tunes of Thomas Moore. Their first album, entitled simply " A n u n a " . received ex cellent reviews, while their live performances moved the Irish Times critic to observe that "the collaboration of singers and in strumentalists made for a joyous occasion. All the pieces were performed with infectious en thusiasm" and were " r a p turously received", concluding that the total impression was "(tauntingly beautiful". Anuna have recorded sound tracks for television, radio and film. T o dale they have work ed with both Irish National Or chestras, and performers as varied as uileann piper Liam O'FIynn. Maire Brennan of C l a n n a d a n d Mai read Ni Mhaonaigh of Allan have join ed them for concerts and recor dings. Recently they completed a track with Sinead O'Connor for her forthcoming release, and they also worked with Barry Manilow on the soundtrack of the forthcoming animated feature film "Thumbelrna". group of children back for short periods on a yearly basis so that their progress can be monitored and the homeopathic treatment continued. Obviously, this kind of com mitment requires a great deal of r e s o u r c e s , and the group organising the visits and treat ment is making an appeal for support to continue this wor thwhile project. As well as the Anuna concert, various fundraising functions are being ar ranged. If you would like to help, you can contact: Nuala Eising . Caherwoneen. Kinvara. Co. Galway (091 37382). Anuna's benefit concert is being kindly sponsored by Digital European Software Cen tre in Galway. and Mr. Will Regan. General Manager, said. " W e arc very pleased to be sponsoring this event, which promises to be a marvellous evening of music in support of an e x t r e m e l y worthwhile cause. In addition to financial spon sorship. Digital also provided support through its Galwaybased graphic design studio. The striking poster for the event was created by Digital's chief d e s i g n e r Tony O ' H a n l o n . whose creative poster work has earned him a growing interna tional reputation. Also providing support for the concert are Galway Bay F M . O ' C o n n o r ' s Warwick Hotel. Sevnth Heav'n Restaurant, Mulligan Records, the Galway Advertiser and the Connaught Tribune. Don't miss what should be a s u p e r b concert by Anuna on J u n e 23d in St. Nicholas' Col legiate C h u r c h .

Their second album, " I n vocation", will be released shortly, confirming this unique Irish group's presence on the music scene. Anuna cannot be classified simply a s a choral group, because all o f the members are also skilled tradi tional instrumentalists, and the combination adds a special dimension to their presentation of the music they have rediscov-

ed and are now making accessi ble to a wider audience.

Chernobyl
The benefit conceit is in aid of the Chernobyl Children's F u n d , which h a s brought children from the area that was affected by the radioactive con tamination after the explosion of a nuclear reactor in April of

1986. From November 1993 to April 1994, a group of two adults and fourteen children from the nearby city of Gomel in Belarus in the former USSR were brought over to spend time in the Clare/Galway area. The aim of bringing the children to Ireland was to give them an opportunity to live in a clean environment away from the dangers of radioactive con

tamination, and also, through the use of homeopathic treat ment, to enhance their resistance to the after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster. From the time of their arrival until last December 18th, the children were together in Carron, C o . Clare, being taught English. From December 18th until their return home, the children were placed with dif

ferent families in the Clare and Galway areas, and they also at tended local schools in order to further improve their English as well as helping them to make Irish friends. The Chernobyl Children's Fund hope to make this a regular event, with new groups of children being brought over to Ireland each year. Also, it is the aim to bring the present

Johnny Forde's Cybervisions at An Tobar
Last w e e k the T o b a r B a r in a M a m g u a r d cotettion of Street highly hasted the opening pieces of a r e m a r k a b l e art exhibition w h i c h h a v e b e e n m a d e b y Johnny of s c r a p F o r d e metal. Entitled " C y b e r v t s t o n " , it's imaginative all of out

Old mudguards a r e Uausfuitucd into leaping fan, an antique trac tor seat becomes a sort of primitive rank, the chain from a motor bike is p u t of a hghtstaad, a camshaft becomes a cundleabrum: and then there's the imposing 8-ft dinosaur entitled " H e n d r e x " - J u r a s s i c Park meets Purple H a z e . Forde. H e ' s a lhatcher. carpenter and matchmaker as well a s being a fanner. There was always things thai needed repairing on the farm and that's what got m e started. When I was aboat I S I left school and got a job in a welding company, from there I moved onto a signwriting company where I learned to do ranch more ornate

art of rubbish; in this exhibition material m a t a lot of people would call rubbish is made into what is. undeniably. art. The "cybervisioBary" responsible for these creations ts Johnny Horde and he got his a boy on a n family's farm near Claraealway. " I learned a few i my father. Witty

When he was twenty-three Johnny moved to London, but opportunities proved scarce. T w o y e a r s of frustrating idleness were ended when his then girlfriend gave him a bir thday present of a welding kit. He began collecting bits of scrap metal and "putting a few things together". This led him into joining a aew collective called "Reactive A r t " and Ins first ex Inhilion, an open-air on the Lon don King's Road. "After that the group ex panded and diversified into other materials, such as stone, funmureandclcdung Mywork

became more confident. Around that time I came across a group who had a big influence on me called Mutoid Waste Company. They made pieces out of recycl e d waste m a t e r i a l , which highlighted t h e ecological dangers of dumping rubbish without thought for the conse quences." Johnny subsequently did p i e c e s for t h e likes o f Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth and his work even featured on the well-known BBC programme "Blue Peter". Further exhibitions followed, which were well reviewed, and

both his reputation and that of Reactive Art grew considerably. Eventually it all got too much. " T h e Collective had grown from 8 members to 80, there was a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon. Then these two guys who'd been with Saatchi & Saatchi got in on the act and just took us for everything." London had ceased to be a fulfilling place to try and live in and so, on Christmas Eve 1991, Johnny Forde returned to Galway. Since then he's work ed with theatre companies like C o r k ' s C r a c k n a k i l t y and Galway's Na Fanaithe, and more recently - he's been p r e p a r i n g the p i e c e s for " C y b e rvision". 'Cybervision" continues at the Tobar until the beginning of July and is, on no account, to be missed. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of the late Dana O'Malley.