GOREY TUNING UP FOR FESTIVAL OF CHOIRS
THE Wexford Festival of Choirs will take place again this year over four days at six Gorey venues from Thursday May 9, to Sunday May 13, and will play host to 25 choral groups taking part. The festival is all set to be officially launched at 7pm on Tuesday, April 9 at Gorey Library.
Singers taking part will range in ages from four to 80, and they come from around the county as well as further afield, from Dublin to the Channel Islands. The festival will be social and non-competitive, catering to all tastes in music, varying from jazz to light pop as well some acapella styles. All events will be free to attend, but donations to the Wexford Hospice Homecare Service will be welcomed. Last year the festival raised a total of €10,050 for Wexford Hospice, and all funds raised at the Festival of Choirs 2019 will go directly to the charity. This year, in its third year the festival is at the largest it has ever been and for the first time, post primary schools will take part.
The festival will kick off at 7.30 p.m. at Creagh School Gorey on May 9 with singers from the post primary schools, with primary schools singing at 3.30 p.m. at the Ashdown Park Hotel on the following day, May 10. Taking part in the primary school performance are choirs from Tarahill, Monamolin, Kilanerin, Ferns and Bunscoil Loreto Gorey. They will perform alongside the ‘Melody Maestros’ children’s choir.
Also on the May 10, the festival will incorporate a gala concert to celebrate Gorey 400, and this takes place at the Ashdown Park Hotel at 8 p.m., where listeners can enjoy jazz and light popular music. Taking to the stage on the night are Gorey Choral Group, The Rolling Tones, Sunantrai, Wexford harp ensemble, South Dublin vocal ensemble and Harmony Men’s choir. World Music will perform at Gorey Library at 2 p.m. on May 11, with acapella stylings taking to the stage at 3.30 p.m. at Gorey Courtroom after this. To close the festival, there will be Sacred Music at St Michael’s Church, Gorey from 7 p.m. on May 12. The Festival Committee are delighted to welcome back the Gorey Municipal District, Love Gorey, Gorey Print, Poacher’s Well & Wexford Bus as sponsors of the event in 2019. For more information, visit www.festivalofchoirs.ie.