THE NEWS FROM BRUNER’S BROOD MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025 - POSTLUDE FROM THE TRIP TO DUBLIN, IRELAND

Hello, everyone! As I write this article from Norway, I trust all is well with you and that this fall has been a wonderful musical time. This article is later than planned because of many musical and family tasks to deal with once I landed, which included a choir concert with the Tysnes Chamber Choir this past Sunday evening at the time of posting, and getting caught up on other music work this past week. For those who have recently liked and followed my artist page since my last posting, thank you very much for your interest and kind support, as I again warmly welcome new followers who have come onboard. Please share this page with others, tell those you know that this page and website exists, and let them know that activities and events are lining up for fall and winter 2025. Here’s the latest for my Facebook pages and www.trentbruner.com. As promised on October 13^th, this is my second part of the overview of my trip to Dublin, Ireland with the Unneland Community Choir, under the conductorship of Marius Dale Romslo. The weather was the same every day from landing to departure. During our entire trip, the average high temperature was around +15 degrees Celsius, but you would not have been out of place if you had a thicker coat on through the day or dressed in layers as the winds did leave a chill in the air at this time of the year.   Our first group activity was attending an evening folk music dinner theatre two doors down from our hotel. The program, “Celtic Nights,” won a Dublin Tourism award for best cultural presentation in 2024, and it was easy for all present to see why. This four hour presentation of Irish folk culture was shown in the food, music, dance and stories about Irish culture. The €49.00 ticket per person included a three course dinner with traditional Irish food and a two hour concert (without a break) which featured a cast of championship class Irish folk musicians (bodhran, two row button accordion, Irish whistle and a guitarist/vocalist) and folk dancers who could fluently dance in both Gaelic dance and Irish step dance. This production has a rotating cast, which allows the show to be presented seven days a week to sellout audiences and attracts many international tourists. You have to be of adult age to attend the show, but it is worth it if you get the chance to make an evening out of it. In my October 12th Facebook post with photos, the first mini concert we gave was at Powerscourt Gardens in Wicklow, south of Dublin that same day. This was an outdoor setting where I accompanied on guitar, followed by a tour of the gardens that had been granted by the English monarchy after England invaded Ireland centuries ago. The amount of land the Power family received totalled 47,000 acres. Over future centuries and decades, much of the land had been sold off to local residents, making the Power family very rich and allowing them to invest in various business ventures. However, the gardens represent a time when this powerful family would travel over Europe and incorporate many cultural influences from their travels into the actual property, as the accompanying photos show. In 2025, the land size is down to 47 acres where the gardens and international level golf course stands today. Day tours, gift shop, banquet rooms, restaurant and rounds of golf (if you have enough money for one round) and newly established whiskey distillery help provide income to keep proper maintenance of the property year round. That same day, we went to Glendaloch, location of the first Christian monastery in Ireland, which was established by St. Kevin in the 6^th Century, years after St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. Two church sites and a prayer tower still stand today and are designated as an Irish national historic site. We had two concerts in two different settings on Monday, October 13^th. Our first was in Christ Church Cathedral during the late lunch hour, where I was on piano with the choir. Our 20 minute mini-concert went very well and conductor Marius sang an old Norwegian hymn as part of the program that was warmly received by tourists and the audience. The rich acoustics allowed for a wonderful atmosphere and a rich sound that filled this Anglican church. When we were not rehearsing, two morning services that took place during the weekday as part of the church’s ministry program. In the basement, many famous Irish public figures and church servants have their tombs there on the way to the gift shop for those who were interested in purchasing souvenirs. Our late lunch and our evening performance was held in Ireland’s oldest pub, The Brazen Head, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Fish and Chips were on the menu, plus dessert and a choice of refreshments. We then had three hours between mealtime and showtime to rest, take a walk, and later return to the pub for an acoustic performance where I accompanied on guitar for a 40 minute set from 8:00 pm until 8:40 pm. I learned later that the choir was the opening act for three local Dublin musicians who shared many Irish folk songs for two hours without a break from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm local time. They also asked the choir to repeat some songs from the opening set as well as join in with other songs if they knew them, which did happen on occasion. There were people in the audience from the Netherlands, North Carolina in the U.S., and a Canadian couple from Kelowna, B.C., who were part of the audience. For those in attendance, it was a wonderful way to meet and greet the audience, as well as consider this evening a fitting conclusion to a wonderful musical and cultural experience. This is one trip I would do again if the opportunities arise and see if there was a way to make it longer than four days. In closing, I would like to say thanks again to the Unneland Community Choir for the invitation to perform with them internationally. More information will come in the next article, which will be posted in a few weeks. Dates for my performance calendar have been updated and will be updated again shortly. Until next time, see you somewhere down the musical trail! Musically Yours, Trent