FYI: Cork International Choral Festival - April Newsletter

[Graeme Wilkinson]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Cork International Choral Festival <in...@corkchoral.ie>
Date: 14 April 2019 at 21:14:33 SAST
To: Die Suid-Afrikaanse Koorvereniging - The South African Choral Society
Subject: Cork International Choral Festival - April Newsletter
Reply-To: Cork International Choral Festival <in...@corkchoral.ie>

The 65th Cork International Choral Festival is officially launched!

It's official: the 65th Cork International Choral Festival is now launched! View this email in your browser The 65th Cork International Choral Festival is now launched! Thousands world class singers and visitors from across Ireland, Europe and beyond will descend on Cork from 1st-5th May to celebrate the 65th year of the Cork International Choral Festival. The Festival, which is the oldest in Cork and one of Europe’s most prestigious Choral Festivals, will bring Cork to life with song over May bank holiday weekend with a series of gala concerts, national and international competitions, schools concerts, workshops, seminars, and free performances in venues across the city and county. There are hundreds performances and events scheduled, including performances by 17 international groups from 11 different countries, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and Ukraine. Highlights include the Thursday Gala Concert by the Norwegian ensemble PUST, an Opening Gala celebrating Scandinavian music, Before Bach and After III by Chamber Choir Ireland, a performance by Helene Stureborg’s Chamber Choir in Cork’s North Cathedral, the International Fleischmann Gala choir competition and everyone’s cherished Closing Gala Concert.   A new work will be featured and given its world première in Cork. The composition street after street alike by James May, winner of this year’s Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition (supported by the Ó Riada family) will feature at the Gala Concert on Friday 3rd May in St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral.  This is just a snapshot of what is taking place over the weekend. For the full festival programme see www.corkchoral.ie We hope everyone joins in the fun in Cork!  Much love from all at Festival HQ Book tickets now Opening Gala Concert Wednesday 1st May 2019, 8.00 pm Cork City Hall This year’s Opening Gala Concert will bring the works of two Scandanavian composers that were both born in 1865 to Cork. This will include Irish Premieres of Carl Nielsen’s Fynsk Foraar and Hymnus Amoris with the Fleischmann Choir, the CSM Junior & Senior Children’s Chorus, the CSM Youth Vocal Ensemble and the CSM Symphony Orchestra all under the baton of Conor Palliser with soloists Kim Sheehan, Breiffni Horgan, Rory Dunne and Brendan Collins. The concert will also include Jean Sibelius’ evocative first symphony. More Info PUST - A Breath from the North Thursday 2nd May 2019, 8.00 pm Cork City Hall A breath of fresh air will liven up Cork City Hall for the Thursday Gala Concert. PUST (breath, in Norwegian) are a source of vocal pleasure hailing from Oslo. Their compositions reverberate gracefully between Scandinavian folk, jazzy tones, and all sorts of worldly and natural sounds. At times fragile, at others expressive, PUST is a listening experience and nothing short of an aural exploration of the soul and landscape of the European north. More Info Chamber Choir Ireland - Before Bach & After III Friday 3rd May 2019, 7.30 pm St. Fin Barre's Cathedral Choir-in-residence Chamber Choir Ireland will once again grace the Festival with its presence, presenting the third programme of Before Bach and After. In addition to this unique performance, the winning composition of the 2019 Seán Ó Riada composition competition will receive its premiere performance by Chamber Choir Ireland on the same night. More Info Evocations - Helene Stureborg’s Chamber Choir Friday 3rd May 2019, 10.30 pm Cathedral of St Mary & St Anne Evocations, noted for its sacred and reflective atmosphere presents one of the finest European chamber choirs, Helene Stureborg’s Chamber Choir, founded in by the accomplished conductor Helene Stureborg together with former singers of Stockholm’s Music Gymnasium. More Info Fleischmann International Gala Saturday 4th May 2019 3.00 pm & 8.00 pm Cork City Hall This evening concert will offer audiences the opportunity to hear some of the world’s top amateur choirs competing for the Fleischmann International Trophy, one of the most prestigious choral prizes in Europe. It is a real opportunity for audiences to discover a range of interesting music sung to a very high standard. More Info Closing Gala Concert Sunday 5th May 2019, 8.00 pm Cork City Hall International choirs will present choral music representative of their musical and ethnic backgrounds in a celebratory final Closing Gala Concert. The week will draw to a close and our international choirs will mark the end of a superb festival with a joyful and colourful celebration of song. More Info Choral Symposium The three-day Choral Symposium is free of charge and a must for anyone involved in Choral music.  It was developed to better reflect and enhance the present development of choral music and its composition and practice in Ireland. It offers a wider vision, and a more interactive platform, for composers, conductors, singers, practitioners, and students to meet, experience, and discuss.  There will be a number of workshops and a range of interesting talks and practical sessions on choral practice.  Practical sessions in the Alexander Technique, Voice Production, Choir Voicing, and an introduction to the relatively new holistic performance pedagogy, Core Singing™ will offer attendees a wide-ranging opportunity of learning and upskilling. The Composer Speaks Session will also see composer Michael Holohan examine the choral music of Berio, Xenakis and Messaien and his own personal engagement with these great international figures. PUST - Open Rehearsal Thursday 2nd May, 11am Curtis Auditorium, CIT Cork School of Music In this workshop you will experience the essence of Pust’s music. An open rehearsal with Pust, how the sextet are making their songs and arrangements, the working process in bringing their vocal signatures into their songs that define their identity as a vocal ensemble. The workshop will be interactive between the ensemble and the listeners, both verbally and musically. Read more. Inside the Performance - Chamber Choir Ireland Friday 3rd May, 2pm Curtis Auditorium & Doolan Room (Room 217), CIT Cork School of Music & Millenium Hall, City Hall In a new development as part of their residency at Cork International Choral Festival, the singers of Chamber Choir Ireland will offer coaching to selected choirs attending or participating in the Festival. In 2019, the selected choirs are: Capella Lyrica (conductor: Maria Judge), Cór Lae Nua (conductor: Nicholas McMurry), and Cork Contemporary Choir (conductor: Valter Fralda). Read more. Copyright © 2019 Cork International Choral Festival, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website Our mailing address is: Cork International Choral Festival Civic Trust House 50 Pope's Quay Cork, Cork 0 Ireland Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list