ASSOCIATION OF IRISH CHOIRS Enhancing Life through Choral Music
Events & Education
Dawn Chorus
Dawn Chorus - Sing at sunrise on the waterfront?
The Association of Irish Choirs (AOIC) and Active Retirement Ireland (ARI) are delighted with the response to their call for choirs and Active Retirement Associations across Ireland to come together for The Dawn Chorus as part of the Bealtaine festival 2010.
Choirs and Active Retirement Associations all over the country are preparing for an uplifting and unique experience on a waterfront on Sunday 30th May at 7am. You can still get involved by going along to one of the sites listed below on 30th May.
Dawn Chorus events are taking place all over Ireland ths year.
Following an extraordinary debut event on the Culdaff beach in Donegal in May 2009, Dawn Chorus is returning to waterfronts all across Ireland this year. Donegal’s Bealtaine organiser Sally Murphy describes the unforgettable morning as the first Bealtaine Dawn Chorus came to life in May 2009: “The sense of enthusiasm and good will was overwhelming; here were a myriad of different types of people, all ages and sizes and backgrounds, coming together to sing out and celebrate life. And at 6 am, the Inishowen Gospel Choir, all 30 of them dressed in white, came out from behind the rocks, singing and clapping. For the next sixty minutes, we shared an experience that I will never forget. The music was lifted up and carried across the beach and, everywhere I looked, I saw people from every age-group smiling and clapping and singing.”
This year, Dawn Choruses will be ringing forth from waterfronts across Ireland.
In Dublin, over 100 people will be singing as four Active Retirement Groups – Kincora, Clontarf , St Gabriel’s and St Bridget’s Seniors - come together with choirs Diva Voces and Dolce and the Ennafort Ladies Group, for a concert at 7 am in Clontarf on Dollymount Strand (at the Causeway Centre between the two car parks). Also in County Dublin Malahide ARA will be participating in the Dawn Chorus at the car park entrance at Malahide Beach at 7am. For details of these events contact Edel Ryan Mob: 087 289 4674.
In County Cork, Kinsale ARA (contact Oliver Lynch Tel: 021 4774701) will be combining with two local choirs to make a group of over 70 people to participate in one Dawn Chorus in Cork on the 30th May 7am, at Pier Road, Spanish Gallion. Midleton ARA are coming together with Cantairí Mhuscraí, Ballincollig, The Carrigaline Singers and The Cork Garda Male Voice Choir to play their part in Dawn Chorus at 7am at Youghal Beach. For further details on this second event contact Edel Ryan Mob: 087 289 4674.
In Wexford the 55 Club will hold their own Dawn Chorus. This will take place at 7 am 30th May at Wexford’s Ferrycarraig Hotel. 25 singers from the active retirement group along with the local community will be singing up-tempo Irish songs. Mary Quinn Tel: 053 912 8892 is the local contact for this event.
Carlow’s Dawn Chorus will take place at 8am in the town park. The event, organised by Seamus O’Rourke and ARA contact and Chair John O’Keefe, will be entitled Dawn Chorus - celebrating the river of life. They will be joined by Mary Amonds choir, the Killeshin pipe band and the Ballylinan Wren boys. The local gael scoil will also be taking part along with the fire brigade and the Carlow rowing Club. John O’Keefe is the Carlow coordinator for this event Tel: 059 9143937.
Donegal will be taking part in this phenomenon again. The Donegal Town ARA will be performing at 7am in Harvey’s Point, Donegal town. For details contact Lana McNamara Tel: 0749721369.
In Louth, Ardee Active Retirement Association will be taking part in Dawn Chorus at 7am in the Moore Hall Lodge Active Retirement Village. This is the Ardee ARA’s first time participating in the Bealtaine Festival. For further details on this particular event contact Mary Dunne on Tel: 041 685 3377. And in Kildare Naas ARA will be joining St David’s Church Choir to sing on Ballymore Road beside the lakes. For further information contact 045 879192.
ABOUT THE ORGANISATIONS
The Association of Irish Choirs (Cumann Náisiúnta na gCór) is the national resource organisation for choral music in Ireland, supporting and promoting excellence in choral music in Ireland. AOIC provides information and advice and presenting a range of programmes and activities designed to respond to the needs of members, the wider choral community and the public.
T: 061 234823
Email
Web
Active Retirement Ireland is a national umbrella group of over 480 local Active Retirement Associations involving a membership approaching 22,000 older people in a countrywide active retirement movement. The movement’s principal aim is to help retired men and women, usually over the age of 50, to lead a full, happy and healthy retirement by offering organised opportunities for a wide range of activities. The movement is nationwide, non-political and non-sectarian with a membership of men and women drawn from many occupations and all walks of life.
Active Retirement Ireland, Shamrock Chambers, 1-2 Eustace Street, Dublin 2
T: 01 679 2142
Email
Web
Bealtaine is the nationwide celebration of creativity in older age that takes place every May. The first festival of its type anywhere in the world it is an initiative of Age & Opportunity, the Irish national organisation promoting greater participation by older people. 2009’s festival featured 2,000 events attended by 57,000 people created in partnership with over 400 organisations ranging from libraries and arts organisations to active retirement groups, care settings, and individuals.
Age & Opportunity, Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9.
T:01 805 7709
Email
Web
Regional young choirs initiative
Late in 2007, AOIC, with financial support from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, commissioned research and recommendations into the establishment of county-wide young choirs. This research was undertaken by from Mags O’Sullivan and has now been received by AOIC and has been considered by the Arts Council, its principal funder.
As a first step to offer support to directors and teachers working in this area, AOIC hosted a networking day on 29th March 2009. Jo facilitated the session and workshop which included useful warm ups, trouble-shooting for young choirs and some exploration of repertoire. Conductors had an opportunity to meet with each other and share experiences and resources. The day concluded with a question and answer session to give AOIC a chance to gain a better understanding of the facilities and resources required in order to facilitate further training opportunities for young choirs in the future.
AOIC pilot regional young choir
In the coming months, AOIC hopes also to announce details of a pilot project to establish the first in a series of regional young choirs.
AOIC wishes to pilot a young choirs initiative in the South East region with a view to testing the model and rolling it out in other regions. Further information will be posted here soon.
National Choral Singing Day to mark World Mental Health Day
Following on from the enormous success of Ireland’s first National Choral Singing Day in 2008, AOIC with Mental Health Ireland and Wexford County Council are pleased to announce that the National Choral Singing Day will take place on Friday 9th October 2009.
The focus of the initiative is to spread the message that choral singing is good for your mental health.
Choirs from all corners of the country are invited to organise events with their local Mental Health Associations. Events can take the form of open rehearsals, singing sessions in public places or in health care units, workshops in the workplace, massed choir events. Further information is available from aoic@ul.ie
if you would like to be notified about future events, please email info@cnc.ie
