New boys’ choir formed in town

Auditions in the TLT on Saturday July 1

DROGHEDA is about to have a new boys’ choir. A sub-committee of the Drogheda Male Voice Choir have been putting in place protocols and procedures over the past few moths to establish this choir. In undertaking this exciting initiative they are now all set on providing the young boys of the new choir with the best of voice and music training that will lead to excellence in choral singing and in the process hope to earn them national recognition.

Sharon Gaynor, of The Voice of Ireland fame, has been appointed Musical Director to the new choir. Sharon says she is excited with the new venture and is delighted to have been considered for this position.

Owen Rafferty, who is a member of the Drogheda Male Voice Choir, is the person behind this venture having been involved in choral singing all his life. Owen says; “Boys between 8 and 12 years is the normal age range for the new choir. However, boys slightly outside of that age range may also be considered. We have put child protection protocols and procedures in place as well as volunteer training, in line with legislation and best practice, and we now have reached the stage of recruitment of boys for the new choir. Auditions and enrolment will take place on Saturday 1st July between 10 am and 12 noon in the TLT. The audition will be quite informal. Boys will be asked to sing something simple like “Twinkle, twinkle little star” or any piece of their own choice, and will be given a few pitching tests from the piano”.

Seamie Briscoe, PRO of the new Boys’ Choir sub-committee says; “Drogheda is a town burgeoning with wonderful talent and the Drogheda Male Voice Choir’s aspiration is to promote and propagate this aspect of the town’s youth which will resurrect the tradition of boys’ choral singing. We have been tremendously impressed with our friend, Jackie Walsh, and the fantastic Lourdes Youth Choir who has sang with us on several of our concerts. Our new sub-committee and Musical Director, Sharon Gaynor, hope to achieve the same high standards. Sharon and the Boys’ Choir will receive the full support and expertise of the Drogheda Male Voice Choir”.

The sub-committee of Drogheda Male Voice Choir responsible for setting up the New Boys’ Choir is - Tom O’Reilly (Chairman), Owen Rafferty (Honorary President to the Boys’ Choir), Tommy Finnegan, Tom Murphy, Ronan MacFadden (Secretary to the Boys’ Choir), Mal Stringer and Seamie Briscoe (PRO)

Tom O’Reilly, chairman of the Drogheda Male Voice Choir concludes; “We are delighted to be involved with this project and the reintroduction of a Boys’ Choir in the town. There has been a good response and we would like to acknowledge the support of Louth Youth Federation in undertaking this initiative and, in particular, the help of Kevin Matthews and Róisín Keenan.

Parents/guardians wishing to enquire further about the New Boys’ Choir may do so at dbchoirsec@gmail.com - the Boys’ Choir’s email address.