The rehearsal schedule for the remainder of Hilary Term is illustrated below. We look forward to seeing you all over the coming weeks as we put the finishing touches to our preparations for this exciting concert for the choir.

Congratulations to Eoghan Desmond, Raymond Tedders, Judith Lyons and Margaret Bridge on winning the Cherry Cup last Wednesday. Well done also to Dermot Frost, Charlie Kerrigan, Fionnuala Barrett and Joanna Staunton for winning the ‘highly commended’ prize. It was fantastic to see four quartets compete for the coveted trophy this year and we hope many of our members have been inspired to enter for next year! The committee would like to thank Mr David Brophy, Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, for judging the competition.

The winning quartet in full flow

Even though it’s reading week, rehearsal will take place as normal from 7 pm in Regent House. Our Annual General Meeting will take place in a fortnight, during rehearsal on the 16th of March. Tickets for the Verdi Requiem performance in the Grand Canal Theatre are continuing to sell briskly, so we urge you to purchase tickets as soon as possible. They are available at: https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/TDD/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=68787

The audience and competitors eagerly await the result.....

This week is going to be one of the most action-packed for Choral in some time. Wednesday evening will see Choral welcoming the Guinness Choir to Regent House for a joint rehearsal to prepare for our upcoming performance of Verdi Requiem. This rehearsal, which will be conducted by David Milne, will focus on preparing the Sanctus for double chorus.

Tickets for this concert, which will take place on the 2nd of April in the Grand Canal Theatre, are selling briskly, so be sure to get hold of them before they sell out! They are available from this address:

https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/TDD/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=68787

After a shortened rehearsal on Wednesday evening, the 2011 iteration of the Cherry Cup competition for vocal quartets will be held. The judge for this year’s competition is Mr David Brophy, Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Thursday night will see the Music Societies Ball taking place in Clontarf Castle, and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

This year’s Cherry Cup competition for vocal quartets will take place in Regent House at 8.30 pm on February 23rd 2011.

Each quartet must comprise of a soprano, an alto, a tenor and a bass, while at least two of these must be current paid-up members of the society.

Each quartet must perform a set piece and a chosen piece. The set piece is determined by the society’s conductor and musical director, Mr. David Leigh. The set piece for this year is The Long Day Closes by Sir Arthur Sullivan and can be downloaded here. Each quartet must also select an additional piece to perform, of not more than five minutes in length. On the night of the competition, each quartet performs both the set and chosen pieces in front of an independent adjudicator. This year’s competition is to be judged by Mr. David Brophy, Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

The winning quartet will be presented with the newly-restored Cherry Cup and €25 of vouchers for each member. There will also be a ‘highly commended’ prize for one of the competing teams.

If you wish to take part, please collect an entry form at rehearsal and submit it by February 23rd.

Our third rehearsal for our upcoming performance of Verdi’s Requiem will take place from 7pm in Regent House this Wednesday, the 2nd of February. This will be the last opportunity for any new members to join for this term! We look forward to seeing you all there.

The second rehearsal for Verdi’s Requiem will take place tonight in Regent House from 7pm. New members are welcome to join at the rehearsal (no audition required!).

A huge thanks to everybody that came along to the first rehearsal for Verdi’s Requiem last Wednesday. The second rehearsal will take place from 7pm in Regent House this Wednesday, the 26th. New members are still welcome to come along and join for the term, and no audition is required. New tenors will be especially welcome! Further information will be provided at rehearsal regarding the upcoming Cherry Cup competition for quarters and we are also hoping to have rehearsal CDs ready.  We look forward to seeing you there!

The first rehearsal for our upcoming performance of Handel’s Messiah will take place this Wednesday [18th of January!] in Regent House. Please arrive by 6.30 pm to allow time for registration and the distribution of scores before the singing commences. New members of some, or no experience at all are more than welcome to come along and join (no audition is required). We look forward to seeing both familiar members return and also plenty of new faces at rehearsal tonight to begin what should be an exciting term!

We are now just over a week away from the commencement of Hilary Term, which promises to be extremely exciting and eventful! Choral will be joining with the Guinness Choir and the Ulster Orchestra to present a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in the Grand Canal Theatre as part of the Tercentenary celebrations of the School of Medicine in Trinity College. Choral performed the Irish premiere of Verdi’s Requiem in 1876 and we are delighted to be associated with this work once more.

The Berliner Philharmoniker perform the Dies Irae from Verdi’s Requiem

As it is the beginning of a new term, we are looking for new singers of all voices (particularly tenors) to join the choir. We welcome both experienced singers and any beginners who just want to try it out (there is no audition required to join). If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at our contact page. New members can sign up at our first rehearsal for the term in Regent House (above Front Arch) at 6.30 pm on Wednesday 19 January. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to our first rehearsal however, as we rehearse weekly in Regent House from 7pm and you can join up to and including the third rehearsal on Wednesday 2 February.

Besides the performance of Verdi’s Requiem, the upcoming term will also see the 2011 iteration of the Cherry Cup competition for vocal quartets. Stay tuned for further information on this year’s competition. The set piece will be circulated at rehearsals and committee members will be more than happy to help you to put a full quartet together for the competition. Visit our Cherry Cup page for further information on the competition and details of last year’s event

We look forward to seeing you on the 19th of January to begin what should be a memorable term!