International choirs set for Inishowen performances
The City of Derry International Choir Festival is hosting community concerts in Buncrana and Muff
Inishowen audiences will have the opportunity to see some of the international choirs performing at this year’s City of Derry International Choir Festival at three community concerts in the peninsula.
The festival, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, is running from October 19 to 23 at venues across Derry and Inishowen.
Concerts featuring local and international choirs, including some of the international competitors, will take place in Muff and Buncrana during the festival.
Muff Community Hall will host four choirs in a concert on Thursday, October 20 at 5.30 pm.
The Doire Calgach Singers will be joined by The Magnificent AKs from England, Embla from Norway and the Inishowen Gospel Choir.
The Eller Girls' Choir from Estonia is performing at St Mary's Oratory, Buncrana on October 23
On Sunday, October 23 at 3pm, St Mary's Oratory, Buncrana will be the venue for performances by the Eller Girls' Choir from Estonia, the University of Washington and Lee Singers from the US and the Bluestack Chorale from Donegal.
Embla is a Norwegian female choir consisting of 22 singers, from the age of 20 to 55. The choir was formed in 1994 by singers studying musicology at the department of music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.
The name, Embla, stems from Norse mythology. Embla was the first woman on earth and is associated with creativity, quality and artistic growth.
Eller Girl’s Choir was founded in 2010 when a choir studio emerged at Heino Eller Tartu Music College. Its singers are young women aged 17 to 24 who study at various high schools or universities in Tartu. In 2017 the choir won the international competition at the City of Derry International Choir Festival.
The choir’s repertoire mostly consists of contemporary Estonian and international choral works and Estonian folk music.
The Washington and Lee University Singers are recognised as one of the finest a cappella choirs in the region.
The University Singers tour nationally or internationally every year and have been recognised for their excellence in performance by the American Choral Directors Association, the Virginia Music Educators Association, multiple international competitions, and in featured programs at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral, and the Academy of Music.