"Rolling to Beethoven" wifh Galway Choral Association - would you like to join a choir in 2015?

If you love singing and would like an exciting new challenge, the Galway Choral Association wants to hear from you.

The Association is a 60 strong community based choir and welcomes men and women who share a commitment to working together to make great choral music accessible to all.

Norman Duffy, musical director

Recently the choir launched a new two-year programme of musical repertoire, “Rolling to Beethoven”. Under the directorship of Norman Duffy, members are looking forward to the satisfaction and challenge of rehearsing and performing a selection of choral masterpieces, starting with the Impressionist-inspired REQUIEM Opus 9 by Maurice Duruflé in January 2016, and culminating in a performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C major with orchestral accompaniment in June 2017. As well as these major concerts, the choir supports Galway city and county events and will be working on repertoire for these occasions alongside their twice-yearly concerts.

The choir rehearses on Sunday evening from 7.30 - 9.30 pm in St. Patrick’s Band Hall beside Galway Railway Station. Rehearsals start on Sunday September 6th, and Norman promises the first evening will be an enjoyable experience for all. The choir season is from September to June each year, and members are asked to commit for a year at a time. Prospective members may attend up to three rehearsals before deciding if they would like to join.

“Galway Choral Association is a community based choir with members of all ages and differing levels of experience. We are a friendly welcoming choir and we would love to hear from anyone who has an interest in choral singing,” says Carol Duffy, Chairperson of Galway Choral Association. Ability to read music, while an advantage, is definitely not necessary – various learning-tools are provided and with work and dedication, anything is possible.

We are proud that we have been able to support many voluntary and charitable organisations that do such great work in Galway; not least of which is the more than €10,000 that we have raised in recent years,” says Carol. “Most recently was a highly successful and most enjoyable collaboration last January with the Limerick Choral Union in aid of Cancer Care West.”

In concert with Limerick Choral Union

For more information about the two-year programme see the Programme page.. 

To arrange a voice-range test, email admin@galwaychoral.ie, or phone Norman Duffy on 085-144-1614.

Looking for a choir to join this year?

Our 2015 recruitment poster - being shared all over town now

Some photos from our June 2015 concert

This is a selection of photographs from our Summer 2015 concert, held in St Nicholas' church on 6 June 2015.

PRESS RELEASE: Summer choral delights at St Nicholas’

Galway Choral Association’s Summer Choral Concert will take place at 8.00pm on 6th June in St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church.

Luscious arrangments by Malcolm Sargent and Roy Ringwald of African American spirituals “Deep River” and “Little David, Play on Yo’ Harp”, Palestrina’s “Alma Redemptoris Mater” and James McMillan’s “So Deep” form part of a collection of new and old favourites. The choir is conducted by musical director Norman Duffy.


“Our summer concert is always extremely enjoyable” said Carol Duffy, newly-elected Chairperson of the Association. “Following the resounding success of our collaboration with Limerick Choral Union in January, it is lovely to revisit our old favourites and perform such a variety of lyrical pieces. The wonderful acoustics and classic beauty of St Nicholas’ provide the ideal setting for these traditional choral pieces from a wide diversity of genres.”

Special guests include Medtronic Chorale, winners of Galway Choir Factor 2015, under the directorship of Ronan De Burca, who will also provide piano accompaniment for the evening. The Association takes great pleasure in showcasing the outstanding up-and-coming young pianist Catherine Higgins from Salthill. Limerick-based tenor, Derek Moloney., who sang at the choir’s recent performance of Orff’s “Carmina Burana” and Poulenc’s “Gloria” which raised over €1500 for Cancer Care West, is also performing.

“Palestrina’s setting of the Alma Redemptoris Mater is challenging to sing, and an uplifting experience for every audience” said musical director Norman Duffy. “Written in the Renaissance period, it is an extremely melodic and fluid choral work ideally suited to a cappella performance in St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. Indeed, many of our pieces will be performed unaccompanied at this concert, which is a new departure for our singers”, he said.

Tickets are €12 (€10 concession) and are available from from Opus II on High St, from choir members, or at the door

Summer 2015 Choral Concert

Presentation to Cancer Care West

Handing the funds raised at our January concert to Cancer Care West

L-R:  Joe Consedine, Michael O'Hare, -Tom Greally, Sharon Fitzgerald (Cancer Care West), Craig Steven

Overall we were delighted to have raised €1600 for this fantastic cause.

Join us and sing your way into spring!

Looking to take up a hobby or get involved with Galway's thriving choral community?  

Singing in a choir is a great way to celebrate spring and make great friends - and we have vacancies for new members now.

About the choir

We are Galway’s largest community choir.    Members don’t have to be able to read music: if you:

• Have a real love of singing and 
• Can commit to Sunday evening rehearsals 
• Can working between rehearsals with the learning tools we provide

then you are very welcome to apply for membership.

Led by musical director Norman Duffy we recently performed Carl Orff's Carmina Burana to a full house in Seapoint, together with Limerick Choral Union.   Norman says

"This concert was fabulous and demonstrated what the choir is capable of.  My intention is to keep the momentum up and start working towards our next major concert in 2016, while still performing a lighter programme in early summer and some Christmas pieces in December."

Anyone with an interest in choral singing to come along to our next rehearsal on Sunday 15 February in St. Patrick’s Band Hall, beside Ceannt Railway Station, from 7.30 to 9.30 PM.

Chairman Michael O'Hare says

“We are a community based choir with members of all ages from 18+ and differing levels of experience, and we would love to hear from anyone who would like to join a choir,  February is a good time for people with less group singing experience to get involved and experience the joy of choral singing in a less-intensive season, while learning the skills to tackle a more challenging work next term."

How to join

For more information about membership, contact Norman on (085) 144 1614.

To organise an audition email admin@galwaychoral.ie   These are short (5-10 minutes) and are usually held on Sunday evenings before practise.

January 2015 Concert Photos

A selection of photos from our hugely successful January 2015 concert.

Poulenc's GLORIA - accompanied by Peter Bailey

With St Nicholas Schola Cantorum

Thanks to the team from Blacklight who provided staging and lighting

Sharon Fitzpatrick, Fundraising Manager CancerCare West, Donal Lyons Mayor of Galway and Michael O'Hare, Chairperson Galway Choral Association

Thanks to Kevin Boatman for the photography.

About our January 2015 concert: Carmina Burana and Poulenc's Gloria @ Seapoint

Working with Limerick Choral Union with assistance from St Nicholas’ Schola Cantorum, we are presenting two major works in concert later this month, kindly supported by Davy’s Western Office and in aid of Cancer Care West.

Under the leadership of music director Norman Duffy, the choirs will sing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with soloists Franzita Whelan, Gyula Nagy and Derek Moloney, and Francis Poulenc’s Gloria accompanied by organist Peter Barley.

“This is the largest concert we have presented in Galway for some years” said Michael O’Hare, Chairperson of the Galway Choral Association. “We were honoured when Limerick Choral Union asked us to join with them in presenting these fantastic works in a sell-out performance as part of Limerick’s Year of Culture 2014, and we are delighted to share them now with a Galway audience.”

Seapoint’s upstairs ballroom is a new venue for the choir, but the larger capacity, hospitality facilities and car parking will help make the concert available to a wide audience.

Michael O’Hare also said that the choir is very grateful to Davy’s Western Office for sponsoring the event. “This support has enabled us to engage a percussion section which will add colour and depth to the Carmina Burana. O Fortuna, the opening movement, has been used in many movies and TV shows, including the X-Factor, but many people do not realise that it is part of a larger, equally energetic work which is very enjoyable to perform as well as to watch. With 170 singers on stage, this is a will be a dramatic, high-energy performance.”

Michael O'Hare, Eoin Cotter (Davy Group), Norman Duffy and Sharon Fitzpatrick (Cancer Care West) at the concert launch.

“The Gloria is a lovely work, and provides an excellent contrast” said musical director Norman Duffy. Written by French composer Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), it was premièred in Boston in 1961. The work presents the Gloria in Excelsis Deo in six movements, progressing from an accented and declamatory opening, through dramatic and joyful moments to an ending which is dark and mysterious.

Cancer Care West, which provides residential and support services to cancer patients and their families in the west of Ireland, has been selected as the charity partner for the event. “We are delighted to acknowledge the support which Cancer Care West provides”, Michael O’Hare said, “and to be able to assist them to raise vital funds to continue their work”.

The concert is being held at 8pm on Saturday 31 January, in the upstairs performance venue at Seapoint in Salthill.

Tickets are €20 (€17 concession) and are available from Cancer Care West (Inis Aoibhinn or the Cancer Support Centre or online at www.cancercarewest.ie), from Opus II on High St  or at the door.

A video to promote our January concert

Thanks to InGalway.tv for this video of a choir-practice in St Patrick's Band Hall.



More details about the concert are available here.

Presenting Carmina Burana and Poulenc's Gloria in Galway, January 2015

Tickets for our concert are available now,
on-line from Cancer Care West.

Share the event with your friends on Facebook.

Thanks to the Davy's Western Office for supporting this event.