‘Officially amazing’ - Laois woman breaks world record for largest clarinet orchestra

A Laois woman was part of a huge international group who broke the Guinness World Record for the largest clarinet orchestra.

Maeve Furey from Mountmellick travelled to Châtellerault in France to join 1,380 other clarinet players in attempting to break the world record for the largest clarinet orchestra on Sunday, August 30.

Emmanuel Boulanger, a clarinettist and conductor in Châtellerault, led the efforts to break the world record which was previously set in Hong Kong by 448 clarinettists.

Maeve, the Secretary of the Portlaoise Rotary Club, spends a lot of her time in France and came across the campaign on social media. As a clarinet player, she was intrigued by the opportunity and decided to sign up.

Playing the clarinet is a new skill for Maeve, having taken up the instrument after she turned 60.

“I took up the clarinet, believe it or not, the year after I turned 60. It was one of my kind of New Year's resolutions. I took lessons for about two years, and then COVID struck, so everything stopped for a few years. And then, nearly four years ago, I discovered the Portarlington Concert Band and I play with them now,” Maeve told the Leinster Express.

A huge effort was involved in preparing to beat the world record, with each participant being sent music to learn by themselves.

“We were sent out the music. There were 16 pieces in total. Then we could choose which part we wanted to play. There was first, second, third, fourth, and up to fifth clarinet. In some parts there were contralto, contrabass, and alto clarinets as well. So there were parts really for any form of clarinet. Then by April, we had to submit our completed application.”

To help prepare herself for the event, Maeve said she received some help from Kevin Fitzpatrick who is the clarinet instructor with the Portarlington Concert Band.

With over 1,300 people taking part from across France and other countries, there was a lot of organisation to get people to Châtellerault. Most participants were from France but then others such as Maeve came from across the world.

People living nearby in Châtellerault offered spare rooms for people to stay and even driveways for camper vans and back gardens for tents.

Bussing the huge number of participants back and forth even involved a lot of organising, especially considering each person carried their own instruments.

The group had just one practice session before the big event in the main square of Châtellerault in front of around 2,000 people, including Maeve’s husband and some Irish friends who showed up to support her.

“It was just a phenomenal day. It was amazing. The rehearsal I think was probably the most moving and the most emotional because all of us who had worked away were suddenly hearing the fruits of our labour in a big conference room. The rehearsal was indoors and the sound was just beautiful,” the Mountmellick woman said.

Despite the heavy rain during the official performance, Maeve said it didn’t dampen any spirits and the crowd “were really just bowled over by the performance.”

“It was a massive undertaking. It was amazing. I never thought on my bucket list of things I would like to do, winning a world record would have been on it. But when you do win one, the Guinness World Record does say you are ‘officially amazing’, so that's a great title to have! Guinness World Records tell me I am officially amazing.”