Chamber Choir Ireland, formerly known as the National Chamber Choir of Ireland, is the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

's national choral ensemble and national chamber choir, and the only regularly funded professional choir in the country. Primarily funded by the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

, the choir is the resident ensemble at the

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

and Affiliated Artists to

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

Paul Hillier Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-foun ...

, has been the choir's Artistic Director since 2008. The choir's repertoire spans from early Renaissance music to the present day. It also commissions new works by contemporary composers. In addition to its performances in Ireland and international tours, the choir has released recordings on the

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''harm ...

Orchid Classics
and

RTÉ Lyric FM RTÉ Lyric FM (stylised as RTÉ lyric fm) is an Irish classical-music and arts radio station, owned and operated by RTÉ. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM throughout Ireland (in some areas ...

labels. Chamber Choir Ireland is a member of the European network of professional chamber choirs
TENSO

Artistic directors

(2008–present) *

Celso Antunes Celso Antunes (born November 12, 1959) is a Brazilian conductor (music), conductor located in Germany. Biography Antunes studied singing and conducting at the University of São Paulo, achieved recognition as assistant conductor of the São Paul ...

(2002 –2007) *

Colin Mawby Colin Mawby KSG (9 May 1936 – 24 November 2019) was an English organist, choral conductor and composer. From 1961 he was Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, then from 1981 he was the choral director at Radio Telefís Éireann. He co ...

, founding Artistic Director (1991–2001) The Choir also regularly invites international guest conductors to work with the group, and since 2016 has worked with Sofi Jeannin, Grete Pedersen
Nils Schweckendiek
and

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...

Commissions

Since its inception, Chamber Choir Ireland has regularly commissioned choral work by both Irish and international composers such as Gerald Barry, Ian Wilson
Andrew Hamilton
Siobhán Cleary,

Tarik O'Regan Tarik Hamilton O'Regan (; born 1 January 1978) is a British and American composer. His compositions number over 100 and are partially represented on 43 recordings which have been recognised with two Grammy nominations. He is also the recipien ...

David Fennessy
Deirdre McKay and

Jennifer Walshe Jennifer Walshe (born 1 June 1974) is an Irish composer, vocalist and artist. Biography Jennifer Walshe was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1974. She studied composition with John Maxwell Geddes at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, ...

Touring

Chamber Choir Ireland regularly tours throughout the island of Ireland, presenting choral concerts to audiences all around the country. Internationally, the Choir has toured extensively in Europe, Asia and North and South America including performances at the White House for President Barack Obama on St Patrick's Day 2011.

Learning & Participation

Chamber Choir Ireland has developed learning and participation programmes across the choral art form: Composers in the Classroom (for school children aged 15–18 to write new choral music), Axis SING (a community choir project in North County Dublin), Choral Music in Ireland: History and Evolution (a series of lectures on the history of choral music in Ireland) and Choral Sketches (a professional development programme for emerging Irish choral composers). Chamber Choir Ireland has also provided opportunities for young singers and conductors to participate in apprenticeship programmes.

Funding

Principal funding for Chamber Choir Ireland comes from the Arts Council /an Chomhairle Ealaíon, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland National Lottery Fund, and Dublin City Council.

Recordings

The choir's recordings include: *

Gerard Victory Thomas Joseph Gerard Victory (24 December 1921 – 14 March 1995) was a prolific Irish composer. He wrote over two hundred works across many genres and styles, including tonal, serial, aleatoric and electroacoustic music. Biography Victory ...

: ''Ultima Rerum'' –

Virginia Kerr Virginia Kerr (born 14 May 1954) is an Irish soprano who appears frequently in concerts, opera, oratorio and recitals. She has sung with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House Co ...

(soprano),

Bernadette Greevy Bernadette Greevy (3 July 1940 – 26 September 2008) was an Irish mezzo-soprano. She was founder and artistic director of the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival.''The Irish Times'', "Festival seeks to promote opera among young peopl ...

(mezzo-soprano), Adrian Thompson (tenor), Alan Opie (baritone),

RTÉ Philharmonic Choir The RTÉ Philharmonic Choir is an Irish choir, part of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. Organisation The choir is part of RTÉ Performing Groups, and the chorus master is Mark Hindley. The choir members, all of whom commit their services entirely ...

, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Cór na nÓg (children's choir),

National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, since January 2022, it used ...

Colman Pearce Colman Pearce (born 22 September 1938) is an Irish pianist and conductor. Born in Dublin, Pearce was educated at University College Dublin and studied conducting in Hilversum and Vienna. He became a conductor for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in ...

(conductor). CD, 1994. Label: Naxos/Marco Polo. *''

White Stones White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

'' – Secret Garden (ensemble), National Chamber Choir of Ireland,

RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestr ...

Fiachra Trench Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench (born 7 September 1941, in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. Trench first studied Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before moving on to t ...

(conductor). CD, 1997. Label:

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

*''One day fine'' (Irish choral music from the 14th to 21st centuries) – National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Paul Hillier (conductor). CD, 2011. Label:

: ''Acallam na senórach: an Irish colloquy'' – National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Stewart French (guitar), Paul Hillier (conductor). CD, 2011. Label:

''Carols from the Old and New Worlds'', Vol. 3
– Chamber Choir Ireland, Fergal Caulfield (chamber organ), Paul Hillier (conductor). CD, 2014. Label: Harmonia Mundi. *
Choirland: an anthology of Irish choral music
' (scores for 15 pieces by Irish composers for unaccompanied mixed choir with accompanying CD) – National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Paul Hillier (conductor). CD, 2014. Publisher: Contemporary Music Centre (Dublin) *
Barry Meets Beethoven
' (works by Gerald Barry) – Stephen Richardson (bass), Chamber Choir Ireland,

Crash Ensemble Crash Ensemble is an Irish new music ensemble, which performs a range of contemporary classical music, as well as touring and organising festivals. History The group was founded in 1997 by composer Donnacha Dennehy, conductor and pianist Andrew S ...

, Paul Hillier (conductor). CD, 2016. Label: Orchid Classics'' Gramophone'' (September 2016)
"Review: ''Barry Meets Beethoven''"
Retrieved 7 November 2017.

References

External links

* *Dervan, Michael (23 February 2007)
"National Chamber Choir must be championed"
''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''
Chamber Choir Ireland
on

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{{Authority control Irish choirs National choirs 1991 establishments in Ireland Dublin City University Irish culture Musical groups established in 1991