Event
The weather outside may have been frightful as storm ‘Atiyah’ blew its hardest but there was a wonderful warm festive atmosphere in a packed St. Fergal’s Church for Voices of Bray Community Choir’s fifth Christmas Concert. The Choir under Musical Director, John Ivory and accompanist, Justin McCann, was joined by young talented musicians; Eimile Sheehy (cello), Killian Ivory (guitar) and Chris Smith (violin). Niall Sheehy, who has played the West End and featured in Les Miserables joined as special guest singer for ‘You Raise Me Up’ and then entertained the audience with his rendition of ‘A Winter’s Tale’. All the musicians have family members in the Choir, which made it all the more special.
The Choir received a rapturous reception to their programme of traditional Christmas music covering the range from pop (Wonderful Christmas Time), to traditional carols (A Celtic Silent Night, Christmas Lullaby) via a lively a-capella version of Teddy Bear’s Picnic. The successful evening concluded with the presentation of a cheque for €3,500 to St. Clare’s Conference of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. What a wonderful way to get everyone into the spirit of Christmas.
All the members of Voices of Bray Community Choir thoroughly enjoyed themselves all the while entertaining a marvellous audience and raising much needed funds for the local community.
Pre Concert Newspaper cuttings:
The summer series of three concerts held in the Mermaid Theatre, Bray were an outstanding success again this year. Under the guidance of their Musical Director John Ivory, piano accompanist Justin McCann, and featuring special guests Eimíle Sheehy on cello and Killian Ivory on guitar, the choir took on its most ambitious and varied programme to date, featuring more challenging arrangements.
The eclectic mix took the audience on a musical journey with songs from Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Radiohead, Rodgers & Hammerstein, ELO (and many more), and from shows such as The Greatest Showman, South Pacific and My Fair Lady. The Choir enjoyed singing this programme as much as the audience enthusiastically received it!
Following the concert, a cheque for €6,500, being the the proceeds from the concerts, was presented to the Shauna Kavanagh Foundation. In accepting the cheque, Brendan Kavanagh said that this would help the Foundation enormously in their efforts to assist the families of those suffering from the long term illness, Cystic Fibrosis by helping to offset the day-to-day expenses incurred by families as they support their loved ones. Brendan thanked the Choir for their very generous donation and for the opportunity to highlight their Foundation, which was founded in 2018, following the death of his daughter, Shauna, who so bravely fought Cystic Fibrosis.
Voices of Bray Community Choir, under the direction of John Ivory, and accompanied by Justin McCann on piano, presented their 4th Annual Christmas Concert in St. Fergal’s Church, Bray, on Sunday 9th December. The programme featured Christmas and seasonal favourites old and new along with some unusual arrangements of Christmas favourites.. The second half of the concert featured a visit from Santa Clause and his many Elves.
Following the concert a cheque for €2,620, being the proceeds of the concert, was presented to Lakers; this local organisation aims to enable children and adults with an intellectual disability to develop and nurture their own personal skills and self-esteem in a supportive, inclusive and fun environment. A fire destroyed Lakers’ premises and their fleet of buses in October, so this contribution was very timely indeed.
North Wales Coral Festival, Llandudno, November 2nd to 4th
Summer concerts in the Mermaid Arts Theatre, Bray