Sile De Valera TD is late for a very important date at the National Concert Hall but pianist Maria McGarry plays Chopin's Prelude in C Sharp Minor and time stands still. She is the recent recipient of the Brennan Prize, which is awarded to the best-placed Irish competitor in the Axa Dublin International Piano Competition.
The show gets underway when the Minister arrives, after dealing with a late deputation at the office. The speeches follow and the upcoming season of concerts at the National Concert Hall is duly launched.
Dermot Egan, chair of the NCH, says a deal has been struck with Michael Fitzgerald, owner of the Commons Restaurant in Newman House, who is to look after concert-goers' meals from now on. Fitzgerald is here, having taken the short-cut through Iveagh Gardens ("one of Dublin's hidden treasures") to get here. He's pleased that the historic link between the two buildings is being maintained.
Among those at the programme's launch is Colman Pearce, conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra and violinist Patricia Higgins.
Opera singer Carol Anne Lowe, with long Medusa-style tresses, is just back from Pretoria, where she was giving a recital. Today, she's focused on the future with plans for an up-coming show in September, which will feature for the third year in a row, the most-loved songs from Broadway musicals.