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Voices of Limerick choir to perform 25th Anniversary Concert at UCH
Voices of Limerick choir to perform 25th Anniversary Concert at UCH
By ilovelimerick correspondent Frances Watkins
Voices of Limerick choir will be performing a 25th-anniversary concert at University Concert Hall on Saturday, November 11th.
Rehearsals are in full swing for their upcoming gala concert on 11th November at the University Concert Hall, Limerick. The soloists for the evening will be Sinead Campbell Wallace (Soprano) and Stephen Aviss (Tenor). They are also delighted to welcome the inimitable Philip Thomas as their accompanist.
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“Voices of Limerick” is a non-commercial choir whose membership is wholly voluntary. Its aim is to foster a love and knowledge of all music amongst its members and audiences.
“Voices of Limerick” is a mixed-voice SATB Choir and was formed in 1992. The Name was chosen by vote of the members and they agreed it evoked memories of the great choral tradition for which Limerick was greatly admired.
The choir determined that from the outset it would concentrate on the great Grand Opera choruses, it also included in its repertoire choruses from Gilbert & Sullivan, Lehar and others. “The Voices” enjoy singing many of the great choral arrangements and has on occasion performed works that have been especially commissioned for the choir .
“Voices of Limerick” made a very happy decision to invite Colette Davis (nee Cantillon) to act as its Musical Director. Colette, as well as being a gifted pianist and accompanist, had acted as Chorus Mistress to the Limerick Choral & Operatic Society for many of its productions. In the twenty or so years since its formation it has been a great success and has received the highest critical acclaim.
After experiencing a series of different rehearsal centres such as John F. Kennedy National School, which was the choir’s first rehearsal venue, and St. Clement Hall at the Redemptorist Monastery for many years, the choir has settled in its present home at Mary Immaculate Training College.
The Voices of Limerick choir are fortunate enough to have many of the founding members still singing with them after all these years. These original “Voices” have been joined by many newer members and are happy to have maintained their membership at about 70 active paid up members at any time.
As well as the many invitations that Voices of Limerick receive to sing, they also put on our own gala concert every two years. These have traditionally taken place in UL Concert Hall and are wonderful evenings of choral music, solo songs and arias sung by well-known opera stars and piano recitals by our good friend Phillip Thomas. For an amateur choir to stage their own concert is a major commitment, both in terms of learning new repertoire and also ensuring that they have sufficient resources to cover the expenses involved.
At present “Voices of Limerick” rehearse each Monday evening from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. in a Lecture Hall in Mary Immaculate College. New members are always welcome and are received warmly by the other members.
For tickets to the Voices of Limerick 25th Anniversary Concert click here
For more on Voices of Limerick click here
For more stories on music in Limerick click here
