Young Longford musicians launch new EP in exciting partnership project

County Longford Youth Service, in partnership with Music Generation Longford, are delighted to announce the release of a new EP of cover songs titled ‘Infinity’ which has been compiled by a group of young Roma musicians.

Going by the name ‘Galaxy Band’, the young musicians are Mirostar Nistor, aged 19, Patrik Nistor, aged 20, Dominik Sarissky, aged 17, Josef Balog, aged 15 and Kristian Pompa, aged 15.

Galaxy Band plays a fusion of traditional Roma music with western music styles. The four-track EP covers three popular Eastern European songs and a unique twist on Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’.

The group meets weekly in County Longford Youth Service to practice with the Youth Workers and Music Educators. The EP was recorded as part of the Longford Youth Service week-long summer music programme. The Music Generation Longford’s mobile recording studio was on-site throughout the week as the young musicians worked with the Music Educators to plan, rehearse and record the EP.

Speaking about the EP, Music Development Officer for Music Generation Longford, Mary-Jane Sweeney said, “it has been an incredible year working with these young musicians on a specific programme suited to their needs and skills. They are, already, accomplished players and our programme helped them hone their craft and work together as a tight-knight group.

“Our Music Educators have worked with this group all year and it was lovely to have a tangible outcome with this excellent release. The EP is a testament to their hard work and talent and willingness to work together as a group.”

Micheál Wall is a Youth Worker with County Longford Youth Service and oversees the running of the music programme. He said “It’s been a pleasure to work with these young men and watch how their music has brought them together. They don’t have a space to play at home so they are dedicated to coming to the County Longford Youth Service every week for a space to express themselves and have fun. The partnership with Music Generation Longford has been a positive experience and we’re all delighted with this EP release.”

Attending the launch, Chief Executive of LWETB Liz Lavery, commended the partnership between County Longford Youth Service and Music Generation Longford saying “this type of work is what we’re all about and it’s great to see these young people’s talent being recognised.”

County Longford Youth Service is a project under Longford Community Resources and the Roma Youth Group are part of the UBU Your Place Your Space Scheme which is funded by The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth through Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board.

Music Generation Longford is managed by Longford Local Music Education Partnership, led by Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board in partnership with Longford County Council and with support from Creative Ireland.

"What we want to do is really simple. We just want to make sure that everyone, whatever their background, gets access to music tuition. That’s the idea." - Bono, U2 May 2010