I had the pleasure of hearing a few performances from Brigham Young University Singers over the course of last weekend down in Cork at the choral festival. One piece that they decided to treat the crowd to at the closing gala concert has stuck with me since – Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, which they give an insight into in the video above. It’s an amazing piece I had never heard before and I think I can speak for many people there when I say it made hairs stand on end.
I’m delighted that they’re taking a tour around Ireland and the UK at the moment, including a concert on Tuesday night in Draiocht Theatre, Blanchardstown, in aid of the Irish Autism Alliance. The theatre’s website appears to be down at the moment but you can probably book over the phone at 01 885 2622. Really looking forward to this, hopefully see you there!
Today is Alzheimer’s Tea Day, a national fund-raising event for The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland. There’s probably a tea day happening near you today or over the coming days to raise funds for the society so do your best to pop in for a cuppa or make a donation via their website at www.teaday.ie.
My fabulous friend Anne Marie will be having her tea day on Satuday in Dundalk where I’ll be doing my best to help her keep the tay flowing & biscuits coming. If you’re about, be sure to pop in – tis open house from 11am to 8pm so you’ve no excuse! Info on where to find the place is on the wee map here.
Pat Kenny is a long time supporter of the society, here’s why you should get involved:
On Sunday May 17th, Special Olympics Ireland are hoping to smash the world record for the largest ever ceili by calling everyone to Ennis to dance the ‘Siege of Ennis’ at the Fairgreen at 2pm. To raise funds, the ‘Siege DVD’ is up for grabs via local outlets or via the website at www.siegeofennis.com.
Here’s what you can do to help, in any order or combination you like:
The record attempt is part of the opening festivities for the Fleadh Nua 2009 festival, a fantastic festival of Irish traditional music, song and dance in the heartland of traditional & ceili music, Co.Clare.
Tis me home county after all & I love nothing more than an excuse to get up and shake my tailfeather so I’ll be seeing you down there the weekend after next! Spread the word folks & get involved via the website, the Twitter account, Facebook or Bebo pages. And in case you’re worried about your dancing skills not being up to scratch don’t be – as my dad says, “sure any eejet can dance that”. Here’s what it should look like just in case the only time you’ve ever heard of it was at an Irish wedding reception around 2am:
This festival first came to my attention somehow around this time last year right after the 2008 festival had just wrapped up in Cork. That in mind I was determined not to miss out this year so I headed for Cork on Saturday to sample some of the choral action to be had in the country’s fairest city.
I went along to the Fleischmann Trophy competiton on Saturday, the major prize on offer at the festival. The calibre of performances from the choirs was amazing as was the range of people involved on stage. Personal highlights included ‘Ett liv for mig’ performed by Finnish group Chamber Choir Gallerie and ‘Elijah Rock’ by Irish choir Codetta. Gothenburg Youth Choir gave a fantastic energetic performance to end the evening including a finger-clicking version of ‘Chili Con Carne‘. For something a bit lighter and to satisfy my more jazzy & modern tendencies in all things choral I popped into the National Competition for Light, Jazz and Popular Music on Sunday afternoon where some delightful performances given. Highlights for me were ‘The Impossible Dream‘ by Portadown Male Voice Choir, ‘The Teddy Bears Picnic‘ by Moy Singers from Co.Mayo and ‘Unchained Melody‘ by City of Cork Male Voice Choir. The closing gala concert on Sunday gave many of the choirs who took part in the Fleischmann Trophy competition a chance to let their hair down & have some fun and that they did for a really awesome evening of music. Sadly the camera battery failed to hold out for long enough to capture them all. Probably the most bizarre performance of the festival for me was Warsaw School of Economics Choir with their take on ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit‘. Highlights for me were the Slovenia’s Ptuj Male Chamber Choir take on ‘Happy Together‘, Cois Claddaigh with ‘Loch Lomond‘, Codetta once again with ‘Elijah Rock‘, Cantilena Children’s Choir singing ‘Molly Malone‘, Fleischmann Trophy winners Kammerchor I Vocalisti with the hair-raising ‘Pseudo-Yoik‘ and finally Brigham Young University Singers (U.S.A.) with their jaw-dropping rendition of ‘Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine‘. I’m delighted to see they’re on tour in the UK & Ireland over the next 2 weeks. This is deserving of a blog post all by itself so watch this space
Overall, it was a fantastic experience in Cork, if too short. I’d love to have taken in more of the festival – there were so many different performances on offer over the 5 days and many of them free of charge too! At the risk of sounding cliched or corny, it really hit me how music can bring people from all walks of life & parts of the world together in a happy, warm, positive & supportive collective. There was such a buzz about City Hall for the performances, all the choirs cheering each other on & getting along famously & enjoying each others’ culture.
I’ve got a bunch of videos from the Closing Gala Concert and the National Competition for Light, Jazz and Popular Music on YouTube – apologies for the awful quality of the camera work but it’s getting a taste of the sound that matters! I can’t wait for next year
Warm-up time for the 55th Cork International Choral Festival
“4,600 voices, 85 performances, from 22 countries for 5 days in Cork.”
That’s the 55th Cork International Choral Festival which kicks of this coming Wednesday and runs until Sunday May 3rd. There’s a lovely variety of performances on offer from chamber groups to children’s choirs and numerous competitive events in between including the prestigious Fleischmann International Trophy Competition which takes places on Saturday.
Some performances that grabbed my attention on browsing over the brochure that may tickle your choral fancy:
Opening Gala Concert with Cork Symphony Orchestra: A Sea Symphony
Shandon Sunrise with Cathal O’Baoill & Gothenburg Youth Choir
The National Chamber Choir of Ireland: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
Fleischmann International Trophy Competition
Closing Gala Concert
Most if not all ticketed events are on sale via the online booking system, over the phone on + 353 (21) 4501673 or in person at the Everyman Palace Theatre box office. Family rates, group rates and season rates are also available. Check out the website at www.corkchoral.ie.
Across from City Hall on Lapp’s Quay there will be a Festival Food Fair on the boardwalk from 10am to 4pm on Saturday while The Clarion Hotel will be satisfying your afternoon & late night choral needs with performances in the Atrium on Saturday & Sunday afternoons from 2.30pm – 6pm and again from 10pm – 2am.
On Sunday May 17th, Special Olympics Ireland are hoping to smash the world record for the largest ever ceili by calling everyone to Ennis to dance the ‘Siege of Ennis’ at the Fairgreen at 2pm. To raise funds, the ‘Siege DVD’ is up for grabs via local outlets or via the website at 
