We took some time out today from rehearsing for our upcoming Christmas concert to welcome back composer, harpist and Cuore alumna, Anne-Marie O’Farrell.

Anne-Marie came straight from today’s premiere of her Murmuration, to explore some sketches for a new choral work we’ve commissioned from her with the support of the Arts Council. She put us through our paces with some exciting cluster chord progressions, rhythmic syllables, and percussive vocalisations.

Anne-Marie’s new piece is the third and final one of our 10th anniversary commissions. We intend to hold a public workshop on this piece in February next year in advance of the world premiere at our Dublin concert in April 2026; watch this space!

What a pleasure to have lyric tenor Christopher Bowen of Chamber Choir Ireland join us for a Choral Clinic at our rehearsal this evening! Chris has a wealth of experience as a professional soloist and ensemble singer with groups such as The BBC Singers and Theatre of Voices.

It was wonderful to work in detail on some of the Romantic and contemporary competition repertoire for our trip to the International Baltic Sea Choir Competition in two weeks time. Thank you to Chris for his insightful comments, encouraging feedback and good humour. Thank you also to Chamber Choir Ireland for organising these clinics and to The Arts Council for funding them.

We highly recommend that other Sing Ireland members apply for future choral clinic opportunities.

We were joined by the wonderful Zoltán Pad for the second half of tonight’s rehearsal. Zoltán is a highly experienced professional conductor and adjudicator who has worked worldwide, particularly in his native Hungary and in Germany, where he studied.

He gave us his expert feedback and guidance on our singing of German Romantic music. It was wonderful to work in detail on subtle nuances of this repertoire. Tonight’s workshop focused in particular on Felix Mendelssohn’s Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen, as we prepare for an upcoming European Grand Prix competition.

We are very grateful to Anna Weiss, a native German speaker and qualified pedagogue, who joined us in the second half of tonight’s rehearsal to give us her expert feedback and guidance on our German diction. Anna regularly coaches singers in the Royal Irish Academy of Music and has previously worked with Irish National Opera.

It was wonderful to work in detail on subtle nuances and tell-tale signs, such as the ich-Laut, that can separate native German singers from non-natives. Small tweaks in pronunciation can make a big difference to the beauty, clarity and expressiveness of our singing.

Tonight’s workshop focused in particular on the text of Psalm 91 in Felix Mendelssohn’s Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen, as we prepare for an upcoming European Grand Prix competition (watch this space for more details!).