The Return of Summer Singing

This summer saw the return of the long-established society tradition of Summer Singing. A small group of dedicated singers continued to rehearse weekly over the summer season, and were involved in three separate performances, all conducted by Ross Cullinane.

Just before the exam period, the Summer Singers performed a number of short works in the Museum Building at the unveiling of a new display cabinet by the Geology Department. Singing the Hallelujah chorus from Messiah at the moment of the unveiling may have been a touch cheesy, but it certainly brought a smile to many faces!

Performing in the splendid setting of the Museum Building

In July, the group set off for Cookstown, Co Tyrone, and performed at the first mass of the Rev Ryan McAleer. Harry Meehan, Choral’s former rehearsal pianist, accompanied the group on the organ. The Cookstown trip instilled a deep love for Stanford’s St Patrick’s Breastplate within all that took part, and endures to this day.

The Summer Singers outside the Church of the Holy Trinity, Cookstown.

With two performances completed, it was time to focus on a more ambitious project – putting on a full concert involving the large-scale choral works that the society traditionally performs. On the basis of encouraging early rehearsals, the programme for the concert quickly expanded to include Vivaldi’s Gloria and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. The eventual performance, which took place in the College Chapel during Freshers’ Week, was an enormous success. One particularly pleasing aspect was that the soloists for the concert were drawn entirely from Choral’s membership. The choir was ably accompanied on the organ by the musical director of the society, David Leigh.

After the successful resurrection of Summer Singing this year, we look forward to continuing this momentum into 2013.

The Summer Singers performing at the College Chapel during Freshers’ Week