On Sunday, January 25th, 2009, CMSP bid céad míle fáilte (one hundred thousand welcomes) to internationally acclaimed Irish pianist John O’Conor and the Royal Irish Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra.

Fresh from New York’s famed Carnegie Hall, the Dublin-based musicians performed a splendid classical program that included TC Kelly’s “Three Pieces for Strings,” Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3,” Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” and Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella Suite.”Among the many honored guests was Orla O'Hanrahan, Deputy of Mission at the Irish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Though Upperville's Buchanan Hall is not often the site of a post-Carnegie Hall performance, the quaint village setting only added to the evening's singular charm. The event was capped off with a post-concert reception with the artists at The Blackthorne Inn, a bit of Ireland in Virginia's Hunt Country.

The performance was CMSP's Second Annual Candlelight Concert, which raises funds for the school's student scholarship and faculty development programs. 2009 marks CMSP's 15th year of making high quality music education and performance opportunities available to all members of the Piedmont community.