Maryville College invited to“Limerick Sings” choir festival
The “Limerick Sings” Choir Festival is a music festival that hosts both Irish and international choirs for a non-competitive experience with music and song. The festival will be held from June 5 to 6, 2018 in Limerick, Ireland. Singers associated with Maryville College have been invited to attend.
The sixth annual festival is open to members of the Maryville College community including students, staff, alumni and their families. Participants will take part in a “Gala Concert Performance” alongside a professional Irish Orchestra at the Limerick Concert Hall. Rehearsals will be held on the University of Limerick campus with housing options there or at a hotel in downtown Limerick.
According to the event flyer, those attending will depart for Dublin, Ireland on June 5. On June 6, they will arrive in Dublin and transfer to Limerick where they will be able to meet other participants for an Irish BBQ with Irish music and dancing.
On June 7, morning rehearsal will be followed by a sightseeing trip through Limerick and visit to Bunratty Castle. Bunratty Castle was built in 1425 and restored in 1954. It contains 15th and 16th century furnishings, tapestries and art. Visitors will get to enjoy these sights and will get a glimpse of what the castle and grounds may have been like in these times. Late afternoon will have a sound check followed by dinner and a second rehearsal.
A third rehearsal, followed by a trip to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, are scheduled for June 8. The Burren is a region in County Clare, Ireland dominated by a limestone landscape. It’s famous for its wildflowers and has its own perfumery. The Cliffs of Moher are located in the southwestern edge of the Burren and rise around 390 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. This will be followed by a “Big Sing at the Cliffs” and short individual performances from each choir at an alternate location.
On June 9, the day of the festival, participants will have leisure time in the morning and a dress rehearsal in the afternoon. The Gala Festival Concert will be performed later that evening at the University of Limerick Concert Hall. On June 10, attendees and participants will depart either for their post-festival tour or to return home.
Dr. Jeffery Redding will be the director of the festival chorus. He has a Ph.D in choral conducting and music educations as well as an MME from Florida State University.
Redding directed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for their 2005 spring broadcast. He has also been a featured guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center and the Orchestra Hall. Redding founded and is the artistic director of the Garden Community Choir in Winter Garden, Florida, and was formerly a part of the Moses Hogan Singers. He is now a member of “Brethren,” a professional all-male singing group.
Information sessions for anyone interested in the trip will be held at 6:00 p.m. and 7:17 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17 in the Henry H. Harter Rehearsal Room in the Clayton Center for the Arts, and again on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 10:30 a.m. in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre. A representative from Perform International Tours will be present at the sessions to answer questions.
For more information contact Stacey Wilner, senior lecturer in music and director of choral activities at Maryville College, at [email protected].