An explosion of sound, which was created by hundreds of excited students preparing to take the stage on the first day of the 109th Feis Ceoil, greeted the visitor to the RDS in Dublin yesterday.
Students of all ages were busy preparing to compete in a range of categories, including choral, orchestral, solo instrumental and individual vocal performances, which will take place during the two-week festival.
Others were simply relaxing, having already performed their pieces earlier in the day.
This year's competition, which has received approximately 1,8000 entries involving 8,000 participants, runs until March 20th in venues mainly located within the RDS itself.
Among the prizes on offer are student bursaries worth up to €5,000, as well as the opportunity to play in the prestigious concert for prizewinnners held in the RDS concert hall on the last day of the competition.
Muireann Brennan (10) was the leader of one of the two orchestras from St Canice's national school in Kilkenny.
Speaking before her performance, she said she was excited about leading her schoolmates in their performance. A violinist herself, she described taking part in the Feis Ceoil as "great fun."
One of the good things about St Canice's involvement in this music competition is the contribution made by the parents of children at the school, her teacher, Regina O'Leary, said.
"There is huge involvement by parents in the running of the programme and in the management of the orchestra," she said.
"For a lot of the smaller ones, it is their first time coming to Dublin to perform . . . we've been to Liffey Valley [shopping centre] earlier. So it is a great day out for the students."
Mary-Rose McNally, a music teacher at the Ursuline Convent Secondary School in Thurles, said her school was celebrating winning the senior orchestra category earlier in the morning for the first time.
"A lot of these students are getting onstage and playing for the first time. Some are only playing their instruments for a year or two, so they are quite excited," she said.
"The fact that the others won in the senior orchestra section is an added incentive. It is very good for their self-confidence and self-esteem."
According to feis administrator Emer O'Kelly, many parents of students now competing in the feis would have done so themselves during their school days.
"It carries on through the generations. A lot of players play really difficult pieces . . . I think it is great to see."
Results
Senior Violin: 1, Stephanie McCabe, Stillorgan, Dublin; 2, Lynda O'Connor, Kilmacanogue, Wicklow.
School Orchestra (B): 1, Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles; 2, Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, Limerick.
Tenor Solo: 1, Peter Kelly, Stillorgan, Dublin; 2, Ciarán O'Leary, Blessington, Wicklow.
Baritone Solo: 1, Ben McAteer, Dundalk; 2, Gavan Ring, Mullingar.
Senior Organ: 1, Liam Crangle, Armagh; 2, David Grealy, Salthill, Galway.
Orchestra (A): 1, Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, Dublin.