Another Valentine for us

Today is our 32nd Anniversary, Birthday, Valentine, whatever...and here's the Anglo Celt notice of the first rehearsal on 14/02/84!

Special mention to Dollé Cullivan, Sally MacKenna, Phyllis McMonagle and Martina Lee Boyle who were there on Day One, and are still singing with us now.

An Evening of Song at Loughan House

We travelled to Loughan House on Thurs, Jan 28th. We sang a program of choral pieces, solo and duet pieces, and some "singalong" numbers. The audience were very appreciative, and joined in with gusto. Our soloists and duetti were Brian McKeever, Martina Lee Boyle, Laura Kavanagh and Nora Kennedy. The choir programme was
Adiemus
Cavan Girl
Follow me down to Carlow
Hallelujah
Love is an Open Door
Thank you for the Music
Here comes the Sun
Vida la Vida
Cantar
Rhythm of life
This was terrific concert for us, and one we hope to repeat in the future.

...and so our '1916' adventure has begun...

We travelled to the first rehearsal in The Helix, DCU on Saturday, to prepare to perform in a choir of 1000 on Easter Sunday.
"A Nation's Voice", a piece commissioned for the 1916 centenary celebrations, will be premiered live on RTE that day.
Here is the RTE report that went out on the evening news...

1,100 singers rehearse for Easter concert

More than 1,100 singers from all over the country will take part in 'A Nation's Voice' - a free open air choral and orchestral performance on Easter Sunday

Posted by RTÉ News on Saturday, January 23, 2016

And thanks to PRO Nora Kennedy, here are a few pictures from the day:

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all Cavan Singers, especially those singing Auld Lang Syne at the Masquerade Ball in the Town Hall tonight.

Our three finals sings before Christmas 2015

We had three finals sings before Christmas 2015...


Cavan General Hospital Oncology Unit Carol Service was held in the Kilmore Hotel at 11am on Saturday morning. It is a bittersweet service always, prepared and attended by the staff of the unit, along with families of patients, and the "Friends" of the unit. We love to sing this service, and we love the candles we are offered to take home to light at Christmas.




We sang on the Town Square in Cavan from 2pm to 4pm on Saturday afternoon. We sang a mixture of sacred and "silly" seasonal songs, and the passers-by seemed to enjoy it because they filled our buckets, and we will be handing over a generous amount to our two charities, SOSAD and Good Morning Positive Age.


We finished our Christmas season as the guests of the Cavan Baptist community. We sang with the congregation, and we also for them sang The Old Man, our "coming home for Christmas" song, written for us by former MD, Paul Flynn. It was lovely to sing it right underneath Slieve Glagh, the landmark it mentions. Our thanks to Rev Ivan Watson, and Carol Watson (alto), for the invitation, and the hospitality, offered to us once again.

Big big thanks, this season as ever, go to our hardworking volunteer "Road Crew", led by Gerry O'Keeffe and Colm Crowe. Without this team, the rest of us divas and divos would be sunk!

Here's to another wonderful year singing together - and what a year 2016 promises to be!

A beautiful evening in a packed Cathedral

Tonight we sang for a large congregation in Cavan Cathedral - and we certainly sang as past in one of the biggest "casts" we have taken part in. (Memories of Voices of the World in Roma fadó fadó, anyone?). The programme was a great mix of traditional and new, which the people present really loved. All choirs sang individually and together. Our soprano Martina Lee Boyle led the singing of Once in Royal David's City as well as sharing the lead in Oh Holy Night with Carmel O'Donoghue (Song Sister and Cathedral Choir soprano).

Here is the main programme:



As well as those hymns listed there, we sang the Sussex Carol and the Hallelujah Chorus with the Cathedral Choir, and the final hymns sung by all 7 choirs, and the congregation was O Come All Ye Faithful / Adeste Fideles.

Special mention must go the the bravura piece, Christmas Rhapsody no 3, from St Patrick's College Ensemble led by our own former Musical Director, Ciaran Tackney. The combination of chorus and musicians was spinetingling. We need to see this Ensemble perform again in Cavan soon.

We had our own special "Green Room" behind the altar, where we waited while we were not performing. Thanks to Hugh Tunney (bass) and Garret Maguire for our own special TV monitor which meant we could see the service, which was wonderful.

This is the second of our Christmas performances. Three more to go before Sunday. No doubt about it - 'tis the season to be singing!

A Miracle in Town

It was lovely for us to attend the Nativity Play and sing in the Carol Service in Cavan Parish Church this evening. Well done to the Shepherds, Innkeepers, Narrators, Singers, Musicians, Camels, Sheep, Angels, Kings, and Cowboys (yep!) of the Cavan No.1 School student cast, and to their teachers.
With our MD Eileen Tackney conductiong, and Sue King as accompanist, we sang with congregation their seasonal hymns - Once in Royal David's City (solo Brian McKeever, Bass), Joy to the World, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark the Herald Angel Sing. We also sang one of our current carols, As The Bells Ring by Bob Chilcott, and the ever anticipated O Holy Night, with solos verses from to of our sopranos, Martina Lee Boyle and Paukine Brady.
Thank again to the Church committee who provide us with much appreciated refreshments in the school hall after the service.
We have taken part in this annual service every years since our foundation in 1984, and it marks the real start of Christmas for many of us.