When it comes to music, Charlie Parsons knows a thing or two on that topic.
As a former trumpet player in the Army Band he has recently recorded the trumpet classic Il Silenzio in memory of his mother.
All proceeds will go to the Carlow / Kilkenny home care team who are very close to his heart, following the death of his Mam to cancer some years ago.
“The care my Mam got from the team was excellent and she was very happy to have the wonderful nurses look after her so well in her last few months”, said Charlie.
Charlie was in the army band for 32 years, having joined when he was 15 and trained for two years in the army school of music.
He was then posted to the No 1 band where he stayed for five years.
When he married Emily Anderson of Newpark, he transferred to the Curragh Band and commuted from Kilkenny.
He played at the pope’s visit in 1979 and played many times in Áras an Uachtaráin and Dublin castle and many commemorations around the country.
Charlie played at the funerals of four presidents including Eamon De Valera.
The band give many recitals in schools around the country where they demonstrate all the instruments and all the children absolutely love it.
Locally, Charlie joined St Patrick’s when he was fourteen and he re-joined when he retired from the army band.
Charlie says he was thrilled with the response he got from people in the music industry as everyone involved in the making of the cd gave their time free of charge.
“My mother’s name was Marie Parsons a well-known confectioner in Kilkenny. She was well known for fabulous wedding birthday and christening cakes”, said Charlie
And it would appear that the love of music is set to carry on as Charlie’s nephew Adam Nolan is a well know jazz saxophonist in Kilkenny.
Interestingly enough Adam was in charge of production on the recently released the CD with the help of Martin Drennan in Martin’s studio.¨
“When Covid took over a few years back it put the plans of launching the CD on the back burner , but I am delighted to finally have it launched”, said Charlie.
Charlies mother was Marie Parsons who was well known as a confectioner and her featuring at numerous weddings and christenings.
The compact disc can be purchased in Essenes Kieran Street , Kilkenny, and Chadwick’s, Carlow. A digital copy can be purchased at the link below.
https://charlieparsons.bandcamp.com/album/il-silenzio
All proceeds from the sale of the CD will go to the Carlow Kilkenny Home Care team.
Carlow Kilkenny Home Care Team is a voluntary organisation established in 1989 to provide a home based palliative nursing care service to cancer patients in the counties of Carlow and Kilkenny. The Home Care Team currently employs 5 Nursing Staff to provide this service on a 24 hour seven day week basis allowing cancer patients to remain at home for as long as possible. The service works in close cooperation with the General Practitioner and Public Health Nursing Services in the community and referrals are generally made through the patient’s General Practitioner. Referrals can also be made through the hospital based oncology and palliative care units. While we do receive some financial support from the Health Service Executive the Home Care Team is very much dependent on voluntary contributions to ensure that it can continue to provide the best possible standards of care to its clients in the Carlow and Kilkenny area. All voluntary funding raising received goes directly towards funding the salaries of the nursing staff The Home Care Team is based at St. Luke’s General Hospital, Kilkenny and can be contacted at (056) 77 85000. Carlow Kilkenny Home Care Team Ltd. is a registered charity with the Irish Revenue Commissioners and the registered charity number is 9354.
