Hundreds join up for Sligo sings ‘ 16
THE Hawk’s well Theatre is on a mission to get all of Sligo singing. After the huge success of the ‘ Sligo Sings’ choir programme initiative in 2015, the Hawk’s Well is bringing it back for a second year.
The 2016 programme promises to be bigger and better as new companies are already on board and they expect close to 280 singers will take part. On November 26th they will host an evening of major celebration for all the choir’s achievements.
Jane Parsons who runs the ‘ Sligo Sing’s programme said: “The Hawks well seats 340 people and there will be nearly as many on the stage.”
Six amateur choirs from some of the largest workplaces in Sligo were involved in the 2015 project, they included: Sligo Regional Hospital, IT Sligo, Sligo Volunteer Centre, Markievicz House, Department of Social Protection and Sligo County Council. They were nurtured by the Hawk’s well appointed choirmasters and eventually all 204 participants performed Coldplay’s ‘ Fix You’ together to a sold out theatre. Five out of the six choirs from last year are now joined with four new choirs: The Pensions Office, the Mercy College, Abbott and a new community choir for all ages which started at the theatre for people not involved in a particular workplace. The 4 new choirs will perform two songs and the 5 choirs from last year will perform one song each. They will then culminate in an amazing choral finale as all the choirs perform All Shook up’s version of ‘ Can’t help falling in love’ conducted by Niamh Crowley.
Each choir workplace has been appointed a choir coordinator and choirmaster who are funded by the Hawks well theatre. No vocal experience is necessary and with no competition in the end, the main goal was to involve people in workplaces to join in the celebration of the joy of singing together.
Jane said: “They meet once a week for 9 weeks, then the final rehearsal is in the Hawks well. It’s all about getting the people involved and bringing them together. The first year we had to reach out to companies but this year we found people were coming to us. People became more open to it, so we had to do it again. The main focus is on the new choirs as they have never sung together like this before.”
Out of the 6 choirs from last year 5 of the choirs continued to rehearse throughout the year, paying for their own choirmaster, because of their dedication the Hawks well invited them back to sing again this year.
When researching the project the programme found there were many health benefits of singing such as, improvements in posture, vocal and lung function, reductions in stress levels and an overall general improvement in happiness.
From ‘ Proud Mary’ to Adele’s ‘ Someone like you’, Walk the Moons ‘ Shut up and dance’ to Birdies version of ‘ Skinny Love’ there is a wide variety of songs that will be sung on the night catering to all different tastes in music.
Tickets are on sale now and are selling fast. For more information contact the Hawks well Box Office 071- 9161518 or online at www. hawkswell. com
The Hawk’s Well Theatre and IT Sligo’s partnership for ‘ Sligo Sings’ in 2015 was shortlisted for the 2016 Allianz Business to Arts Awards in the Best Use of Creativity in the Community & Best Creative Staff Engagement categories. According to Business to Arts, the 25th Allianz Business to Arts Awards saw high levels of nominations from cultural events associated with 1916, expanding sponsorship portfolios and long- term partnerships which continue to evolve through diverse activation campaigns.
The Awards recognises businesses, artists and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships to bring businesses and the arts into mutually beneficial relationships across society.
The Hawk’s Well is currently in the process of seeking sponsors to fund the programme for 2016. Sponsors confirmed to date include IT Sligo, Sligo County Council, MSETB, Tiger Print, AIB and The Sligo Champion.