On Monday the 10th of December, Cullybackey Pipe Band, a Branch member band of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch, appeared onstage with the world famous Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra at the Odyssey Arena in front of an audience of 8000.
The Johann Strauss Orchestra celebrated their 25th birthday on the 10th and led by Andre put on their usual marvellous show for a captive Belfast audience. Artificial snow cascaded from the ceiling onto some of the seat rows during the Orchestra’s rendition of ‘White Christmas’, fans waltzed in the aisles to ‘the Blue Danube’ these, along with a mesmeric rendition of ‘Bolero, being just a few of the many concert highlights.
The finale saw Cullybackey march through the balloon filled aisles playing ‘Scotland the Brave’ to a standing ovation as they made their way onto the stage. They then combined with Andre and his Orchestra to play ‘Amazing Grace’ with the audience still on their feet singing along.
Cullybackey combined their grade 1 and grade 4 band for the concert. Pipe Major Robert Cupples said ‘it was an honour and privilege to be invited to play with a superstar and his orchestra and it was a fantastic opportunity for the kids and adults in the band to experience such an electric filled concert and to combine with another musical genre. The night will live long in our memories’
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch would like to thank the Andre Rieu Group for inviting a member band to perform and Cullybackey Pipe Band for their excellent performance on the night.
Please see attachments for more photos.
