Mullingar Gospel Choir hits high note at Navan Choral Festival
Mullingar Gospel Choir recorded a three-in-a-row victory at Navan Choral Festival on Sunday May 7.
Competing in the gospel category, the choir had won in 2018 and again in 2019 before Covid-19 restrictions postponed the festival until 2023.
When the singing returned, so did Mullingar Gospel Choir’s winning streak, and they were awarded first place again.
The choir performed Total Praise by Richard Smallwood, and Ride on King Jesus by Shara McKee.
Judge Richard Yarr, a BBC radio presenter and producer, with an MBE for services to music, described adjudicating the competition as “an absolute joy”.
“It’s such a great thing to experience music when people feel energised and connect to the words, and clearly enjoy what they’re doing. It really is.
“And that’s the great thing about being out of the pandemic. Imagine, we’ve been missing this for so long!
“It’s superb to come along and share each other’s musical experiences,” said Richard.
When announcing the winners, Richard said he was looking for “a sense of joy” and that “communication was key”.
“This music connects with people on such an amazing level… there’s so much to tell in this style of gospel music. You have to make sure that every word counts, it’s clearly articulated, and it’s always backed up by passion,” said Richard.
He praised Mullingar’s performance for having “all the ingredients”.
“In first place today was a choir who really looked superb, who deliver radiant crescendos and diminuendos, really connect to go through the phrases, keep us really interested, and who gave us a really good sense of joy, understanding, and great articulation… and they can give us, like a good car, a really good gear shift in energy whenever you need it,” said Richard.
The Acapella Fellas from Dublin, who were second in the gospel category, went on to come first in the male choir competition.
Claire Gilmartin, director of Mullingar Gospel Choir, said: “We’re so proud to bring the trophy home for the third time in a row. We have a good balance of work and play. We can be a very social group, but we know when to knuckle down and work hard.
“All of that dedication really paid off in Navan and we can all honestly say that we could relax and enjoy performing.
“We’d like to congratulate the Mullingar Cathedral Choir and Sweet Tunes Active Retirement Choir, who also competed in different categories.”
Mullingar Gospel Choir is a diverse group with members aged 18 to 80 from local towns and villages, and further afield. Some members are from different parts of Ireland, different parts of Europe, and even South America.
There are those with performing backgrounds, while others have no previous singing experience, and one was even a sound engineer for U2 in their early days.
The one thing they all have in common is a shared enjoyment of singing together.
“There’s nothing like coming to choir after a busy day and letting yourself relax and sing with a group of people who are all doing the exact same thing. We’re very lucky to be supported by Mullingar Arts Centre and to have a space to rehearse,” said Claire.
“We’re looking forward to new adventures and challenges in the next year ahead – watch this space!”
Mullingar Gospel Choir welcomes new members every September and January. Follow their Facebook page for updates.
Navan Choral and Instrumental Festival