The Society had a wonderfully successful night at the recent annual AIMS/HB Awards ceremony, taking home two awards on the night! The awards ceremony, held in the INEC in Killarney on Saturday 15th June, was attended by over 1,000 members of musical societies from all over the island of Ireland.
Castlerea Musical Society were well represented, with over 20 members making the journey to Killarney for what is great social weekend to round off another musical season.
The Society were nominated by the AIMS Adjudicator, Richie Ryan, for two awards for last February's production of Fiddler On The Roof. The categories in which we were nominated were Best Chorus and Best Ensemble (this category is for a stand-out song or scene involving a large number of cast members - we were nominated for the song The Rumour). Our Society President, Angela Webb, was also accepted as a nominee for a special award, the Mary Kelly/Unsung Hero award.
On the night, the Mary Kelly/Unsung Hero award was the first award to be presented. Angela was one of six nominees to take to the stage. The other nominees came from societies in Ballywillan, Downpatrick, Limerick, Roscrea and Thurles. To the delight of the Castlerea contingent in the INEC, AIMS President, Richard Lavery announced Angela Webb as winner of the Unsung Hero award for 2013. In the 18 year history of the Unsung Hero award, Angela is the first winner to come from the AIMS Western region!
The next category to involve the Society was Best Chorus. Kevin Moran, chorus member in Fiddler On The Roof, represented Castlerea M.S., alongside representatives from Birr Stage Guild (Oliver!) and Gorey M.S. (All Shook Up). Birr Stage Guild were announced as winners of the Best Chorus award, but the Society is still extremely proud of this nomination, their first ever in the Best Chorus category.
The third and final award category to include Castlerea M.S. was Best Ensemble. Niall Heaney, Director of Fiddler On The Roof represented the Society, alongside representatives from Athlone M.S. (Oklahoma!) and Tullamore M.S. (Annie Get Your Gun). There was great excitement when the winner of Best Ensemble was announced: The Rumour from Castlerea's production of Fiddler On The Roof!
Congratulations go to everyone involved in Fiddler On The Roof. 2013 is the first year in which the Society has won two awards! The particular categories in which the Society was chosen this year recognise the work of the group as a whole, and they should provide an added sense of encouragement and belief to all members as we face into our 2014 production, our most adventurous show to date, Ragtime The Musical!
The Society extends its congratulations to Stephen Macken of Galway M.S. who won the award for Best Male Singer, and to Angela Curley-Staunton of Ballinrobe M.S. who won the award for Best Actress.