Music Department

St Leo’s College Chamber Choir will perform at a gala concert on October 14th as part of this year’s Feile an Fhomhair 2010. The choir will perform two pieces including Ceann Dubh Dilis, composed by Michael McGlynn and arranged by Michael especially for St Leo’s Chamber Choir in 2004. The choir perfomed the world premiere of this piece at the Cork International Choral Festival in 2004 and won the Irish Federation of Musicians and Associated Professions Trophy for the best performance of a part-song in the Irish language. A new generation of the choir look forward to performing the song at the gala concert in the Seven Oaks Hotel in two weeks time.

Leaving Cert music students will travel to the National Concert Hall in Dublin on Tuesday October 12th to listen to the Orchestra of St Cecilia and the Palestrina Choir perform Bach’s Cantata No. 78 and Gerlad Barry’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Both works are on the Leaving Cert music course and will be presented by Rhona Clarke. The musicians will be conducted by Blathnaid Murphy.

The girls will visit Griffith College, Dublin  on November 18th to enjoy a performance of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Tchaikovsky. The overture will be performed by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Cavanagh. The lecture will be presented by Paul Rissmann. Both workshops will be of great benefit to the girls in their Leaving Cert music studies.

The Chamber Choir will travel to Llandudno in November to compete in the North Wales Choral Festival. The singers , accompanied by their director Mr. Curran, will take the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead on Friday November 5th and return on Sunday November 7th. The choir is rehearsing for both RTE and Wales during lunch breaks and at weekends. Choir members are looking forward to their trip to Wales next month.

Congratulations to the Chamber Choir who have been chosen to take part on RTE’s All Island Choral Competition. The girls have been rehearsing for weeks with Mr Curran before submiting their recording. RTE will send camera crew directed by Tommie Gorman to record a snapshot of life in St Leos on Friday October 8th. Lots of excitement!!! Meanwhile the choir is hard at work preparing for the televised regional finals which will be held in Cork on 13th October.