Bunclody school in US band exchange

Musical talent earned a group of Co Wexford students the trip of a lifetime to play a week-long series of concerts in New York recently. The 110-member senior band of the FCJ Secondary School in Bunclody played as guests of the Mount St Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The schools have been involved in a musical exchange since 1995 when Mount St Charles first hosted FCJ school. The US school band has visited Bunclody in 1996 and 2000.

FCJ past pupil and former band member Anthony Kearns, of The Irish Tenors fame, performed with the band for two US concerts, one of which was broadcast on the web. The most enjoyable aspect for the students, says FCJ band director and music teacher Gearoid Grant, is the interaction with their US peers.

"Music gives an opportunity to meet like-minded people. The cultural experience was very important to the students."