Concert had Dundalk Institute students rocking and rolling with their friends from RehabCare
Music students at Dundalk Institute of Technology got together with their friends from RehabCare for a lively on campus concert on Monday 4th April.
On the day the group played songs that they had composed themselves along with other firm favorites such as Don’t stop believing by Journey, Hard Road by Black Sabbath, Country Roads by John Denver, Walk the Line by Johnny Cash, Post Malone’s Circles and finished with Wagon Wheel.
This heartwarming and smile inducing concert was a celebration of a phenomenal experience as they brought an eight-week collaborative project to a close.
This was the fourth time that students on the BA (Hons) Music had collaborated with RehabCare and this year it was an exceptionally special project after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This innovative partnership between DkIT and RehabCare has benefits for all the participants who engage collaboratively to understand each other and the challenges that we all face every day.
The DkIT music students engage with Community Music and Workshop Studies as part of their programme and a number of graduates have progressed to careers facilitating workshops and working with a variety of groups in education and care settings.
RehabCare in Louth provides services such as resource centres and supported accommodation to more than 100 people with intellectual disabilities, enabling them to achieve their full potential and a better quality of life.
Sandy Sneddon Co-ordinator in RehabCare said of the collaboration: "There was a real energy developed between the participants, each bringing their own skills, confidences, and performance styles.
"Being on stage is about so much more than playing an instrument or singing a song - you have to play the crowd!
"In that respect everyone had something to learn from everybody else!
"The feeling after the concert was overwhelmingly positive with participants from RehabCare keen to make more music and get more involved in projects and courses at DKIT - paving the way for creativity, education, and craic!".
A big congratulations to all the musicians and performers involved during the project; DkIT participants included Dr Daithi Kearney, Gavin Gribben, Jessica Mudrew, Faye Morgan McArdle, Angel Chen Jia Ng and Aoife Higgins, RehabCare Participants comprised of Sandy Sneddon, Alex Tumeye, Rodger Zyro, Sarah Malone, John Stokes, Aoife Lawless, Jason Kelly and Moninna McCarthy.