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Design: Declan Durcan. Printed in Mayo by KPS Colour Print, on paper sourced from sustainably managed forests. ank you for your interest in our festival - we welcome you to our festival in 2013 ursday 23rd to Sunday 26th May 2013 www.mayochoral.com Fáilte ~ Welcome to the Mayo International Choral Festival Contents ~ Clár Welcome Messages 2 Saturday Events 15 Details of Competitions Thursday Events 7 Gala Choral Concert ‘Westport Sings’ - Festival Opening Sunday Events 25 Community Concert Sunday Performances Farewell to Mayo Friday Events 9 Workshops Festival at a Glance 26 Evening Community Concerts: Festival Summary Ballina, Ballintubber, Choir Information 28 Knock and Swinford Your guide to over 30 choirs, participating in the festival Our Sponsors 45 Funded by South West Mayo Development Company under the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013, Irish Government National Development Plan 2007-2013 Maoinithe ag Comhlacht Forbartha Iar-dheisceart Mhaigh Eo faoin gClár Forbartha Tuaithe 2007-2013, Rialtas na h-Éireann Plean Forbartha Náisiúnta 2007-2013 1 Welcome Message from our Chairman Nóta ónár gCathaoirleach A big Mayo welcome is extended to all choirs, adjudicators and audiences I am delighted to share the Mayo experience - fine scenery, great people and a relaxed pace of life. Situated next to the wild Atlantic, Mayo is Europe at its most westerly point! From the very outset Fáilte Ireland, South West Mayo Development Company, Mayo County Council, Mayo Lions Clubs, the Mayo Association, Mayo accommodation providers and our many friends and local businesses, have all been very enthusiastic and supportive in their response to the initiative. In particular all choirs from Mayo have been very helpful in assisting with the arrangements for the visiting choirs. Indeed our neighbouring counties have also showed great interest, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Joe Kelly, Sligo International Choral Festival, for his encouragement. Edward Horkan There’s something very primeval about singing. The voice, mankind’s first musical instrument, and older than the beating of a drum, has evolved and taken many forms over thousands of years. My lifelong love of music, my participation and travel with the Mayo Male Voice Choir, and the realisation that Mayo has the facilities for hosting such an event, made the dream of a Mayo International Choral Festival a reality. ‘Is Feidir Linn’ - our motto in Gaelic, meaning ‘Yes We Can’! We look forward to a continuation of the great choral tradition that has been handed down in our county. Highlights for visiting choirs include the opportunity to meet with local choirs at our community choral concerts, including our official opening on Thursday night in Westport with the American ‘Rhode Island Chamber Choir’ and all over the county on the Friday night. Other highlights include workshops (Friday) and the adjudications on Saturday morning, the Saturday evening Gala Concert at the Royal Theatre, tours of Mayo and experiencing the hospitality of the people of Mayo, and sampling it’s food and the special beverages. I am sure all the visiting choirs will get a great welcome from the people of Mayo. I would especially like to thank the various committees who made this venture possible and in particular our executive committee, Festival Director Declan Durcan, Anne Marie Gibbons, Deirdre Lee, Steven Brady, Pat Jennings, Eugene McCormack and Gerry Needham, all of whom have worked extremely hard behind the scenes over many months. The festival would not have been possible without their dedication. Also the various community committees in Ballina, Ballintubber, Knock, Swinford and Westport have been a tremendous help. Thank you also to our many volunteers and to all who have helped in whatever way, big or small. We do hope to see you at one of the events during the festival. Edward Horkan , Chairman, Mayo International Choral Festival. © Courtesy Fáilte Ireland 2 Festival Committee Coiste na Féile Standing, L to R: Steven Brady, Treasurer, Edward Horkan, Chairman, Pat Jennings, Gerry Needham BL, Cllr Eugene McCormack. Seated, L to R: Deirdre Lee, Declan Durcan, Festival Director and Anne Marie Gibbons. Welcome Message from Festival Director Nóta ó Stiúrthóir na Féile Welcome to all visitors and performers I have been working on this project for the last 18 months and in all that time I have been constantly amazed by the good will that underpins this festival. From day one of my coming on board, I have received great help from everywhere. In particular, our festival chairman Edward Horkan and founding member, (fondly known locally as ‘Eamonn’), has worked tirelessly to make this happen, and his energy levels know no bounds. We are blessed with a strong festival committee, who at all times have taken on tasks with determination and vigour, with a real interest in the succes of the event. I have made many new friends in my dealings with the choirs and adjudicators and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the Mayo choirs who have given advice and assistance, and who are a big support to the festival. In addition I’d like to thank all Declan Durcan local media - press, radio, TV and web, and our national associates RTÉ lyric fm. Hats off also to Joe Kelly of the Sligo International Choral Festival, Peter Davies of the Cornwall Male Voice Festival and Gwyn Arch, all who have been most helpful. Also thank you to the accommodation providers who took a leap of faith in the project, when it was ‘but a pup’. Fáilte Ireland have also been very supportive, particularly Brian Quinn and Grainne Kilcoyne from the Western region. Nothing was ever too much to ask. Similarly, Sabina Trench of South West Mayo Development Company has been involved from a very early stage and has given us great assistance and advice. I would like to say a big thank you to the venue providers around Mayo, the various community groups and to all the volunteers and our suppliers. Finally a big thank you to Mayo County Council and all our sponsors who have seen the potential of this festival from the very outset. 3 You are all very welcome to the Mayo International Choral Festival. I wish to welcome, in particular, those of you who have travelled some distance to be here, be that from outside Ireland or across the country. Although there will be a certain competitive element throughout this festival, including some very attractive prizes, that is, by no means, its primary focus, which is to foster a shared understanding between the participating choirs, both Irish and International and, above all else, to celebrate a shared love of singing. I do hope you each enjoy the next few days as you come together in song. Go n-éiri an bóthar libh go léir! An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the Mayo International Choral Festival 2012. I hope you enjoy everything Mayo has to offer during the Festival, whether you are part of a choir, or a first-time visitor to Mayo. You will have the opportunity to enjoy some of Ireland’s most breath-taking scenery and wonderful music - the West will not disappoint you. The four days and nights of this exciting festival will see national and international choirs perform in some fabulous locations. The opening concert takes place in Westport, followed by performances in Ballina, Ballintubber, Castlebar, Knock and Swinford. The festival includes workshops, concerts and competitions - there’s guaranteed to be something enjoyable for everyone. The Festival closes in a lovely way on the morning of Sunday 27 May with choral performances at churches and in nursing homes. I wish the Festival every success this year and look forward to welcoming you to Mayo. Michael Ring TD, Minister of State, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. 4 On behalf of Mayo County Council, it gives me great pleasure to extend a big welcome to all visiting choirs. Mayo County Council is delighted to be associated with the event, and we wish the organising committee every success in what has the potential to become an annual event that will stand proudly alongside all the other established events in Mayo. Our collaborations with national and local tourism organisations has recently seen many dreams become a reality including the Western Greenway, the longest off road cycling track in Ireland, that meanders though some stunning scenery. This county-wide investment in tourism and visitor attractions is making Mayo a better place to visit and in which to live. Details of all these attractions and indeed lots of information on Mayo, can all be found on ‘mayo.ie’, a fantastic website for all things Mayo. I am impressed with such an ambitious programme of events during the festival and I would urge you to encourage your friends to attend at least one event over the few days. I pay tribute to this 'meitheal of music' made up of local communities and Mayo choirs who are assisting the staging of events. The spread of events throughout the county is impressive, with performances in the historic Ballintubber Abbey, the famous Knock Basilica, the flagship Linenhall Arts Centre and the recently built state-of-the-art Royal Theatre in Castlebar and the Ballina Arts Centre, in addition to concerts in Westport and Swinford. Set all this against a backdrop of beautiful scenery, it promises to be a great event. Cathaoirleach Mayo County Council, Austin Francis O'Malley The Mayo International Choral Festival acknowledges the support of the various Lions Clubs in Mayo, in assisting with our preparations for our first festival, and with their assistance throughout the year. Details of the festival featured in the first edition of the ‘Pride of the Lions’, the new Lions Club national magazine.

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