Last night saw the event Sensonic at The Venue, Derry. This performance marked the grand finale of a three year project which has involved hundreds of blind, partially sighted, deaf and hard of hearing people. Through music, drama and other activities, participants have discovered their potential and developed their self confidence. On stage were a number of performers headlined by the world famous percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.
It was very apt for Craicon that the first performer on stage be a Donegal man. Joe Deery from Malin sang three songs and blew us all away. Deery sang with passion and with a very strong emphasis on his ‘r’s. Finishing with Danny Boy he certainly gave the audience a taste of what the night was about.
Victoria Geelan from Co. Tyrone took to the stage next. Having performed at The Playhouse a couple of years ago with The Theatre of Witness and more recently at Sandinos during the Jazz Festival 2013, Geelan is no stranger to the city and was accompanied by Donegal musician Neil Burns. She immediately embarked on a Spanish poem, a lament to the sunset, CANTO. With such a huge voice, one couldn’t but be moved by the emotion felt within the music. Geelan then performed one of her own works, Mine Own Falls. This song tells about the challenges and adversities sensory impaired persons experience. She followed this with a Prince cover, Purple Rain . Finishing with the title track of her new album, Unfit the Picture, Geelan told us that the song is about her venting her anger at the world. The words are questioning and it goes deep into the soul, ‘Who is it that you want to be? Why is it that you keep hurting me? Why can’t you just see?’ A very talented young lady, Geelan is one that we will all want to see again.
The audience was then treated to the Legenderry Samba Pirates! This was a group of blind percussion artists from RNIB and instructed by Sam from the Ulster Orchestra. A real Legenderry treat of drums and bongos.
The star artist then took to the stage, Dame Evelyn Glennie. Glennie lost her hearing at just age 12. She is a full time percussionist and an innovative musician. Having performed at the opening of the London Olympics 2012, she is a world renowned composer/recording artist. She performed on the vibraphone and the snare drum. We were exposed to an authentic display of the percussion world and a rare insight into such raw musical talent. Glennie really was mind blowing. As she said herself, ‘sometimes less is more’. Playing on a single instrument resulted in the creation of a very big music. Simply outstanding and very inspiring.
The second part of the show included a very funny theatrical performance by Shane O’Reilly from Wilfred Theatre’s Follow. He portrayed many of the challenges in real life that a deaf person must incur. He successfully incorporated how other people have expectations from a deaf person and how best to deal with real life situations. A very funny adaptation was enjoyed by the entire audience.
Finally the night was brought to an end with a performance by Identity Crisis, the RNIB staff member’s band and accompanied for a few tracks by The Voice’s Andrea Begley. Begley sang a number of songs and proved why she is still a running contestant on the reality talent show. Identity Crisis gave a variety of renditions and were excellent entertainers and musicians.
This night was truly awe inspiring. The entire show was delivered in both ISL and BSL from the stage and transcribed on two large screens. The audience was witness to a selection of authentic talent among sensory impaired, gifted musicians. Legenderry excelled once more!