Roscommon Rose, Eimear Reynolds, will take to the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time on Monday, December 10th as part of well-known performer Andy Rooney’s Christmas Celebration Performance which will also feature The Irish Tenors, The New York Tenors and the Hibernian Festival Singers.
Eimear told the Roscommon People how the opportunity came about.
“I went out on tour to America last December with Andy Cooney; he’s very good to me, he’s brought me out a few times now and he invited me back this year. Every year Andy puts on a Christmas show in Carnegie Hall. We finish this year’s tour on the Saturday (8th) and the Carnegie gig is two days after that so he asked me would I stay out and perform a few songs with him in Carnegie as well,” she said.
The Roscommon Rose said she is looking forward to following in the footsteps of so many household names.
“Carnegie has been such a renowned name for years; every performer or musician just wants to get to Carnegie Hall so I was very lucky the way it came my way,” she said.
The Roscommon Solstice Choir director has plenty of experience when it comes to performing on stage but admits that nerves are part and parcel of the preparation.
“I do get nervous, it’s obviously not like it used to be but I do think it’s a good thing to be nervous, if you know what I mean. Positive nerves as I always say. You need a bit of adrenaline and a rush to keep you going on stage. I’ll definitely be nervous ahead of the Carnegie gig just because it’s such a big stage and you’re singing at a venue where some of the best performers in the world have performed. I can’t wait though; it’s like a bucket list item to be ticked off”.
Eimear will be joined by family and friends in New York in December and she is also expecting to meet up with some of the American Roses who were in Tralee earlier this year.
Before the big concert in Carnegie Hall, Andy Cooney’s Irish tour will take place later this month, and much to Eimear’s delight he has agreed to perform a concert in Rooskey on Saturday, November 24th. The proceeds of that show will go towards funding a very special trip the Roses have planned for February of next year.
“I’m travelling to Belarus to Adi Roche’s children’s orphanage with the Roses so Andy has agreed to put on this concert for me in Rooskey as a fundraiser. The Solstice Choir are involved in that and so too are The Conquerors and I’ll be singing on the night too. There’s plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks,” she concluded.
