Taking the family photograph

It is always good fun when it is time for us to have a formal group picture taken. We have to remember to come to rehearsal in our "uniform", and we have to get sorted. Stage Manager Frances Galligan has been volunteered for this role each time. Think family pic, but with almost 70 kids in the frame!
Anyway, in the absence of the ever patient Lorraine Teevan this time, we managed it, and here we are...
Thanks to the very helpful Kevin from the Kilmore for helping us out.

Ship of Fools at Hallowe'en '15

Could it really have taken 8 hours to sing one verse of Danny Boy? Yes, if you sing it low and slow, in canon and in ostenato, spending the evening in a cellar as a zombie creeper...

We were asked to take past in the Hallowe'en weekend opening of the repurposed Town Hall in Cavan. We worked with Robbie Blake, choral director of Tonnta Music. We rehearsed in the Kilmore, and at the "secret location", exploring how we cold get an ethereal effect with which to spook and delight our audiences on the night. Robbie helped us to evolve Danny Boy into Splinter Boy, and gave us confidence to sing a short series of notes in canon to great effect, blending with Robbie Perry's samba drummers to create a really macabre finale to the performance - outdoors in the dark of the courtyard, lit by candles.

The location turned out to be the transformed empty See House at Kilmore. The show was called the Ship of Fools, and ran four times over the evening. Our audience arrived by coach, and were treated to over 20 non-stop mini-shows as they were led through the house. This show was the flagship of the 4 day Festival of the Dead concieved by the Gonzo Theatre and trans art.

All that can be said is - you had to be there, and we can't wait to see the professional video. In the meantime, thanks to Ciaran Murray for posting a video of the basement singing here.

Some of the singers also took part in the dance sequences in the reception rooms, and the musical drama on the first floor.

All in all, we were delighted to have been part of this unique happening. Have a look....

Field trip to Albert Hammond concert in Castlebar

Thanks to Treasurer Liz Murray (alto) for organising a trip to the Albert Hammond concert in Castlebar on October 10th. 22 fans travelled, and we stayed over in Breaffy House. After a lovely dinner together in the hotel, we were carefully counted on to the bus to town, and took our front row seats in the Traveller's Friend theatre.
The concert was superb, all hits were sung by Albert in fine voice, accompanied by a terrific band, for well over two hours. There was much stage door swooning when Albert came to sign albums and have pictures taken after the concert.
Imagine our delight, back in the bar in Breaffy, to be joined by the very genial band members (all Scots, all gents) and also the bauld Albert himself. The singing was good, and the craic was too. If you look carefully, you'll spot himself in here between Claire Finlay (soprano) and Nora Kennedy (soprano).

We were all grateful for the relaxed late breakfast next morning, and in need of a swim or a walk in the woods.

Join in THE BIG SING

We are hosting a Big Sing at our open rehearsal next Tuesday, as are many other AOIC choirs around the country. All who love to sing are welcome to join us for a song and a cuppa. This is to celebrate Mental Health week and Choral Singing Week. Many thanks to Cavan County Council Community Office for supporting us in this venture.

AGM Sept 29th

We had our AGM after the rehearsal on Sept 29th. Rachael, our departing chair, thanked everyone who had contributed to making 2014/2015 one of our best years yet. We had our various officers' reports, and discussed ongoing affairs, as ever at AGMs!
We elected a new Committee for the 2015/2016 as follows:

Chair - Carmel Gaffney
Vice Chair - Frances Galligan
Former Chair (ex officio) - Rachael Cullivan Elliott
Secretary - Mags Amond
Treasurer - Liz Murray
Assistant Treasurer - Áine Sullivan
PRO - Nora Kennedy
Librarian (hard copy) - Martina Lee Boyle
Librarian (soft copy) - Peter Howard

Thanks to the outgoing committee for their trojan work on behalf of the Singers, and best wishes to the incoming team.

Getting started on the 2015-2016 season

We began our 2015-2016 saying a fond farewell and thanks to Paul Flynn, and Céad Míle Fáilte to our new Musical Director, Eileen Tackney. Eileen has been working with us for years as accompanist, arranger and teacher, so it didn't take long to get to get to work on our season's work. We are working side by side on our Christmas music (including a beautiful piece written by "our" Paul) and our new pieces which are taken from musical movies.

US Civil War Commemoration in Cavan

We sang at the US Civil War exhibition at the Johnston Memorial Library, Cavan on 5th August 2015. Acompanied by Eileen Tackney on keyboard, We sang many songs evoking the era - Wake Nicodemus, We are Coming Father Abraham, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Just Before the Battle Mother, Dixie and The Battle Cry of Freedom. Soloists were Brian McKeeven (bass) and MArtina Lee Boyle (soprano). Musical Director Paul joined the Aedine Browne (alto), Mary Sullivan (soprano) and Martine Lee Botle (soprano) for a haunting rendition of Shenandoah, joined ny guest violinist Amy Kelly.