When the National Concert Hall (NCH) in Dublin wants to make an impression on some American donors in a fundraising effort, it is nice to be able to call on Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway to provide a musical interlude to compliment a supper soiree held last week.

 
Newly hired Chief Executive Simon Taylor of the NCH situated just off St. Stephen’s Green led a team over to New York to team up with Mark Tuohey, chair of the American Friends of the Arts in Ireland, to host the evening at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center.  
 
During the evening we learned that not only is the NCH Ireland’s most active performing arts center (nch.ie) but is also a leading institution in presenting the arts to Irish communities throughout the island via its outreach and instructional programs.  
 
Like Lincoln Center, which has just undergone a massive upgrading of its West Side campus focused around its recent 50th anniversary, the NCH also has ambitious plans to expand its facilities and programming in its 30th year which are somewhat hampered now by the governmental cutbacks across the board.
  
Patronage from the public in all forms will be critical for the arts to survive and thrive both in Ireland and the U.S. was the lesson we came away with.  
 
Below, watch Sir James Galway performing 'The Flight of the Bumblebee'