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I joined the Culwick Choral Society last January and I’m really glad I did!

Everyone was so welcoming and helpful and it was obvious that there was a real sense of community in the choir. I felt a bit out of practice musically but the choir members showed me the ropes in a very considerate way. 

I had been a member of the Fleischmann Choir in Cork years before and really enjoyed preforming choral works as part of a large group. It’s fantastic to hear all the other voices and harmonies around you when you’re singing and also for me it’s great to have lots  of backup/other people involved as you would never catch me getting up on a stage by myself!

I was looking for a similar experience in Dublin, a choir that was welcoming, warm and fun but also serious about the presentation and performance level they wanted to get to. I feel I definitely found that with the Culwick.

Last January I saw a post for an open night for the choir. I rang Donal Ahern,  one of the choir’s committee members, who was so helpful. I was able to go along to choir practice that same night which was great. Everyone was lovely and really helped me settle in. As I’m not really able to sight read it was reassuring to know that Donal had prepared practice CDs  and he was also  kind enough to email  me the  music and other tips/supports which was much appreciated. The cost of joining, when broken down weekly, is really good value too, cheaper than most classes one might go to. The secretary of the Choral Society links in with us regularly and it is all very well organised.  After several weeks in the choir I had an audition in order to become a permanent member. I was nervous about it, but Bernie Sherlock the Musical Director of the choir was very supportive throughout it. 

I had a fantastic season with the Culwick Choir which culminated in a performance in the National Concert Hall. An amazing experience made even better by the wonderful professional orchestra that Bernie had brought together for the occasion. It’s brilliant to be part of a choir that performs the big choral works to such a high level. Friends who attended said we sounded like a professional choir! I’m looking forward to our next performance on Culture night and also to our Christmas Concert.

 If you’re looking for a choir that’s serious about the standard they aim for musically but is also friendly and inclusive, the Culwick Choral Society is the one for you. I didn’t realise when joining, but it is also Dublin’s first public choral society, we are now celebrating 121 years and that’s a nice piece of history to be connected with. 

Would you like to join a choir? Culwick Choral Society is looking for new members in each of its sections. We are a large choir that sings big choral works in some of Ireland’s finest venues. We are friendly and welcoming and we work hard at being one of Ireland’s finest large choirs. Our musical director has won countless choral awards and pushes us to new levels. If you want to watch your musicality grow weekly, and enjoy your singing with a friendly bunch of people, then please consider coming to one of our rehearsals.

We think you’ll love it! If you join, you will participate in performances of great music, accompanied by professional symphony orchestras and show- casing Ireland’s very best soloists. Every week, at every rehearsal, you will be alongside the keenest singers, young and old, long-time music-lovers and the newly-converted to classical, all welcoming, all enjoying every minute. So if you’d like to join a choir, join the Culwick Choral Society!

Celebrating 121 years! Ireland’s first public choral society — going from strength to strength!

I joined the choir in 2011 through a friend of mine. It was my first time joining a Choral Society and, coming from a non classical background, I had no idea what to expect. It soon became obvious that I was joining a very special club. I was greeted with open arms and in spite of my lack of choral experience I very quickly bought into the culture of the society. Under the guidance of our musical Director Bernie Sherlock and with the help of my fellow tenors I have been on a a fantastic musical journey for the past eight years. Being part of such a great group of singers and performing such incredible music has really enhanced my life. I feel so privileged and honoured to be a member. To my friends in the Culwick thank you one and all for helping me to be part of it. Yes indeed, everything they say about the benefits of choral singing is true. I would heartily recommend it. If you want to broaden your musical horizons the Culwick is the choir for you. 

I joined the Culwick in 1987, making me one of the longest serving members in the choir. At that time, conductor Colin Block expanded the size of the choir from 40 to 120 members, so there was lots of new blood. I was given four weeks to learn the work for my first concert – the Beethoven Mass in C. I’m naturally a bass, but because I could sing the high notes, I was put in the tenor section and remained a tenor for 16 years. Then time caught up on me: I went back to my ‘real’ voice and joined the Culwick basses. In my years in the choir we’ve sung some amazing works – highlights for me include Mahler’s 8th Symphony (with more than 1,000 singers), Bach’s Mass in B Minor, the African Sanctus, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers and Roxana Panufnik’s Westminster Mass.

As part of a series leading up to our spring concert on 28 May concert, we are highlighting some member profiles to showcase our varied membership and some of the reasons people enjoy singing with the Culwick Choral Society!

First up is Donal (along with his mam Elizabeth and sister Gráinne!). Here’s what Donal had to say about singing in the Culwick.

My name is Dónal and I have been singing with the Culwick Choral Society since 2013. When I joined I was the youngest ever member but recently my sister Gráinne took over that title! My mam Elizabeth was the first of our family to join the choir in 2009. She is the reason why myself and Gráinne joined. It’s so wonderful to be able to sing with such an amazing choir alongside members of your family and we are really lucky to be able to do so. It’s great fun.

A Culwick Christmas!

NCH, December 4^th 2018, 8pm

 CHANGE OF ARTIST

Please note that soprano Rachel Croash will replace Cara O’Sullivan who is indisposed.

The Culwick is so sorry not to be welcoming back the wonderful Cara O’Sullivan, but delighted and fortunate to have caught the award-winning, up-and-coming Rachel Croash in a gap in her hectic European and Irish schedule.

***

Press Release (Updated)

Special guests soprano Rachel Croash, the Dublin Brass Quintet, and the DIT Youth Choir join forces with the Culwick Choral Society and their award-winning conductor Bernie Sherlock for this year’s unmissable celebration of Christmas featuring much-loved carols, music and songs from across the ages.

The Culwick is proud to present the World Premiere of The Happy Grass by Seán Doherty, specially commissioned by the Culwick to celebrate its 120^th anniversary. The choir’s long, long tradition is beautifully reflected in Brendan Kennelly’s poem The Happy Grass which honours the eternal nature of song in human society. This brilliant new piece honours all Culwick singers – past, present and future – and by extension all singers and those who love singing.

And then, following on from the choir’s huge audience hit in December 2015 with Cecilia McDowell’s A Winter’s Night, the Culwick is greatly looking forward to performing another of McDowell’s sparkling Christmas cantatas: Christus natus est. In what will be a most memorable Irish premiere, Christus natus est magically weaves together five favourite carols with soprano soloist, brass ensemble, organ, percussion, children’s choir, and of course the Culwick Choral Society in full voice!

Other highlights of the evening include two sublime Christmas motets from the sixteenth-century by Giovanni Gabrieli, Christmas music from Messiah, Stuart Nicholson’s exciting Lord of the Dance, the traditional lullabye Suantraí with Rachel Croash, a rollicking Rudolph performed by the DIT Youth Choir, and a medley of much-loved carols with the Dublin Brass Quintet.

The audience will be greeted and hosted throughout the concert by our special compère, the outstanding Irish broadcaster Olivia O’Leary.

In all, a lovely evening is in the offing and a delightful beginning to the Christmas season.

For further information, please contact:

culwicksecretary@gmail.com

National Concert Hall, Tuesday 4^th December, 8pm

Tickets €6 – €27

Your chance to try it out!
Did you ever want to join a large choir?
Get to know Beethoven, Mozart and all the giants by singing their music?
Why not give it a go, with no commitment?

We would love to see you at one of our Open Rehearsal Nights — Thursday September 20 and Thursday September 27.

We think you’ll love it! If you join, you will participate in performances of great music, accompanied by professional symphony orchestras and show-casing Ireland’s very best soloists. Every week, at every rehearsal, you will be alongside the keenest singers, young and old, long-time music-lovers and the newly-converted to classical, all welcoming, all enjoying every minute.

This year’s exciting programme includes the hugely popular Carmina Burana, a warm and delightful Christmas concert full of seasonal favourites and the Irish premiere of Christus Natus Est by Cecilia McDowall, and Jonathan Dove’s magical Arion and the Dolphins in May 2019.

The Culwick is directed by the internationally renowned conductor Bernie Sherlock. It is a large, amateur choir that prides itself on its friendliness, on working hard, on enjoying the journey and giving great concerts.

New members are always welcome. Some music-reading ability is an advantage. Just drop in to an Open Rehearsal Night and sing or just observe.

Open Rehearsal Nights: 20th and 27th September – 7:30pm
Wesley House, Leeson Park, Dublin 6.

We look forward to seeing you!

Celebrating 120 years!  Ireland’s first public choral society — going from strength to strength!