IF music be the food of love then Galway looks set for a fine meal next month, when the RTE Concert Orchestra plays Leisureland as part of the Irish Times/RTE Music in the Classroom series.
Yesterday, some hors d'oeuvres offered by viola, oboe, violin and bassoon were snapped up in schools around the county by pupils starved of a more regular exposure to such treats.
At Grianach House School which is attached to the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Galway the mood varied from funeral to celebration. RTE musician Tommy Kane used his viola to great effect to demonstrate the hold music has on the emotions.
The deep, sombre tones of the death march changed to a warm vibrato when he played a romantic and lyrical piece, and there were smiles when he switched to some good ol' western hoedown tunes.
But it was the theme music from Jaws which provoked the strongest reaction. "I liked the shark music - it was dangerous," was the common refrain from pupils afterwards.
His colleague, David Agnew, played wistful music to show the plaintive qualities of the oboe and then gave an irpressive display of the "glass blower's trick". It is used by wind musicians to breathe in and out at the same time, while playing over a long phrase.
The entire school watched in fascination, then warmly applauded, as his cheeks expanded and contracted again while he repeatedly ran through a scale.
The difficult trick is to breathe in through your nose while you're playing, maintaining a steady supply of breath to the mouthpiece.
The viola was a big hit with Kyle Lindsey, one of the older pupils in the school. He said it looked easier to play than the oboe. "When you hear old classical music it sounds a bit boring," he said. "But then when you hear just two people playing, it sounds a lot better."
Meanwhile, in Scoil Bhride in Menlo, bassoonist Carole Block explained how her instrument worked. A ripple of disgust went through the class when she explained that cigarette smoke is sometimes blown through the bassoon to see if any of the pads covering the sound holes need to be adjusted. If smoke leaks out from under them, then some work is needed.
"Filthy habit, that smoking," remarked the principal, John Murphy, from the back of the class. "Yes, sir!" roared the class in unison.