Choral Society’s invite to singers at start of new season

Mullingar Choral Society have just completed one of their busiest and most successful seasons ever. Like so many other groups, they had to deal with the reality of the Covid pandemic and there was a question as to how the society would bounce back.

That’s according to their president, Stephen Cummins, who says, that despite concerns, “when rehearsals began in September last year, the majority of our members were delighted to return and we were thrilled to be able to welcome some new voices also to add to our numbers”.

In fact, last season saw Mullingar Choral Society performed on four separate occasions, making it their busiest season yet.

“Our first outing was our annual Christmas Concert in Mullingar Cathedral, which drew large crowds and was well received. We were also invited to sing in the county library before Christmas and that gave us an opportunity to sing much of our Christmas programme again and we’re hoping that event will become part of our calendar,” says Stephen.

“Traditionally, our main event of the year would be a spring concert. This year we decided to change to a summer concert, entitled ‘May We Sing’, which was in St Paul’s Church in May.

"The highlight of that was the performance of our soloist Claudia Boyle and many of our audience on the night suggested that they would love to see her perform with us again – who knows?

“Our final performance of the season was on the stage of the Gig Rig at the Fleadh Cheoil. That introduced a whole new audience to Mullingar Choral Society and many were surprised that a choir better known for performing choral works were capable of producing memorable renditions of Raglan Road, The Parting Glass and Dúlamán.”

On the back of their fleadh performance, Mullingar Choral Society have been asked to perform the Irish Kidney Association’s memorial and thanksgiving service in the Cathedral of Christ the King, which will be televised, in October.

Stephen now says the challenge facing the group as the new season begins is how to match or surpass what has just been achieved.

“I have no doubt that we will rise to the challenge. If you enjoy singing, if you are looking for something to do during the winter evenings, not come along to our first rehearsal on Tuesday September 19 at 7.30pm in All Saints Church. We would be delighted to see you.”