Mayo sings this May
MAYO will be in full voice over the next few days with more than 1,400 singers taking part in the sixth Mayo International Choral Festival.
Songs and choral pieces from many genres, including jazz, pop, folk, sacred and gospel music, will make Mayo a Mecca for all music lovers from today (Wednesday, May 24) until Sunday (May 28).
The only county-wide choral festival in Ireland, this year's event will have 39 international, national and local choirs participating on a competitive and non-competitive basis.
The festival will include a number of evening and daily performances as well as competitions, with all events open to a public audience and many pop-up mini performances on the Songway Choral Trail.
Choirs from Mayo and local community groups will assist with the coordination of the events. International choirs include Angel Manolov Choir (Bulgaria), Voice Point Choir (England), Cantare Chamber Choir (Sweden) and LYRA Vocal Ensemble (Russia).
The highlight of the festival, the Saturday Night Gala Concert, will take place, once again, at GMIT Castlebar. This features all the winning choirs of the competitions and is a spectacular night of music. Special guests will be the a cappella quartet LYRA from St. Petersburg.
The concert finale will see all attending choirs (and audience members) join together to sing the very last song of the evening, which is truly a joy to experience live.
The festival continues to honour Mayo’s heroes and heroines in song and music, and this aspect of the festival includes a celebration of the life and times of Courtney Kenny, Mayo’s Musical Maestro for 2017, who has contributed enormously to music in the region and indeed in Ireland.
This is the festival opening event this evening (Wednesday) in St. Mary’s Church, Ballinrobe. Starting at 8 p.m., the concert will feature Sean Costello, Michael Coen, Sandra Schalks and the Ballinrobe Folk Choir.
Several community concerts will take place all over the county, with visiting and local choirs performing at each. Tomorrow (Thursday, May 25) there will be concerts in Ballina Arts Centre and the Church of the Holy Trinity, Westport. On Friday, May 26, concerts will take place in Ballintubber Abbey, St. Patrick’s Church, Newport, and, for the first time, in Ballyhaunis at St. Patrick's Church.
Saturday sees the choirs competing in Castlebar’s GMIT, which is open to the public. It’s a great chance to see all the choirs singing at their best. In between the competitions, choirs will perform short outdoor performances all over Castlebar town on the Songway Choral Trail, and also at Mayo Memorial Peace Park (weather permitting).
For those rising early or for those going home from the celebrations the night before, the Dawn Chorus will start at 8 p.m. on Sunday morning, May 28, in Lough Lannagh car park, Castlebar, while the festival closes with a concert in Christchurch, Castlebar, later that day at 5 p.m.
The festival is supported by Mayo County Council and Fáilte Ireland. For more information, log on to www.mayochoral.com or www.facebook.com/mayochoral, or phone the festival office on (094) 9023040. Tickets for the gala concert are available at www.eventbrite.ie and local outlets. For all other events, tickets can be obtained from local outlets and on the doors.