Accora Orchestra

Formerly Castletown Accordion Orchestra

Est. 1981

Background.• 1981 formed as a marching band in

Castletown, Navan, County Meath.

• 1993 the current musical director John Chilton, took over and changed the band to a classical accordion orchestra holding their practices in Nobber, Co. Meath.

• 2014 the Orchestra relocated to St.Kilian’sNational School Mullagh Co. Cavan as the majority of our young musicians are based in this area.

• Currently 90 members who come from the South Cavan /North Meath environs.

4 Orchestras

Mini-Musicians (age4-6): Sara Brennan

Preparatory Orchestra (8-12): Yvonne Chilton

Intermediate orchestra (Age 11-17): Sara Brennan

Senior Orchestra: John Chilton

Percussion Players: Clare Martyn

Successes All-Ireland champions at 3 different levels winning The Northern

Ireland Open Accordion Championships in Carrickfergus over the

years.

World Music Festival Innsbruck Austria 2007,2010, 2013 2nd and

3rd place twice.

European Accordion Championships Praque 2006, 2016, Placed 2nd

and 5th respectively.

Concert tour of The Dolomites Italy 2012. 4 concerts to audiences

in excess of 1000 people.

International Festival in Pula Croatia 2014.- Hotbed of Accordion

music. Awarded one gold, two silver, one bronze.

London Accordion Orchestra 2017 Concert Performance London

Sundgau France 7th July 2018 2 concert performances with the

L’Orchestre d’Accordeon du Sundgau

Ethos of The Orchestra

No Parent /Guardian has to invest a large sum of money

to purchase an instrument.

“..we aim to provide the highest quality musical education possible to meet the needs of all our students

within the limits of available resources…” Mission Statement

€10 per lesson per week. €3 instrument rental fee.To a maximum of €150 - a security deposit which can be

used off the purchase price of the instrument should

parent decide to invest.

Doing our part for

Funding: €3,717.66

• Clothes Collections

• Busking in Grafton Street

• Raffles

• Busking in Blanchardstown Centre Christmas 2017

Impacts/ Benefits of The Project

Rebranding – A growth in Profile/exposure

Name Accora Orchestra : Abbreviation of the word Accordion

A Chorus/ A Chord

A Cara - Her friend encapsulating friendship

New Logo: Modern Symbolic representation illustrating the significance of our primary

instrument, the classical accordion.

As classical accordion is not taught in Ireland, by purchasing a Pigini Base Accordion from

Italy we are able to achieve an authentic sound.

By adhering to correct specification re our new amplication and microphones, the

mechanism of the instrument cannot now be heard through the sound system so our overall

sound is greatly enhanced. We are also now able to accept more outdoor performing

opportunities.

New Leroni Trailer: Safe transport of all our

equipment to our practice and performance

venues.

• Laptop/Printer: Enabled us to stream line our

overall administration with all important

documentation easily accessible , safely stored

and backed up. Helping us to meet our

requirements for G.D.P.R. We can now

communicate efficiently with members /parents

and other relevant organisations/bodies by email

and also avail of internet banking.

Minister Heather Humphreys T.D

Official Launch of our Rebrand

at our

Third Annual Mid-Summer Concert

Ramor Theatre

Virginia

Co. Cavan

Saturday 30th June 2018

Challenges for the Promoter.

Time - voluntary nature of most youth groups

Appropriate expertise

Documentation: policies, tax certs etc

Paperwork/ administration of the Project

Trust – Accepting the need for openness, accountability

and transparency

• Fundraising

Challenges for Leader Personnel.

Provision of ongoing guidance and assistance for participants

Endless patience

Understanding /awareness of difficulties Promoters face.

Developing ongoing trust with the Promoter.