New commissioned work by Vincent Kennedy performed in Wexford

The Heart of Truth is a new musical by Vincent Kennedy commissioned under the percent for art scheme by Gorey Educate Together School. The work will be performed on 8-9 March at Gorey Educate Together School Hall, Co. Wexford.

As part of the commission, the composer has been working in the school for the past year to write and develop the musical, and has written an original story with Gwen Brennan. The artistic team for the project also includes the director and playwright Declan O’Brien, musical director Ronan Dooney, visual artist Niamh Murphy and choreographer Edel McDevitt, who is also a teacher in the school. The pupils of the school helped to shape the whole production with their suggestions, resulting in a collaborative enterprise with the artistic team. The musical encompasses the ethos of the Educate Together school philosophy. As part of the process the primary school pupils received singing, musical, drama and comic acting lessons. The musical score comprises 11 new songs and additional musical interludes scored for a professional band of piano, synthesiser, percussion and saxophone.