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Voices of Bray Community Choir Celebrates 10th Anniversary
June 8th 9th and 10th, at the Mermaid Arts Theatre Bray at 8pm.
After a 4-year gap, the Voices of Bray Community Choir returns to the Mermaid Arts Centre for its summer concerts. This year is extra special as the choir celebrates its 10th anniversary. Founded in 2013, the choir focuses mainly on popular music repertoire with the occasional dip into other genres. Membership of the choir, which is open to adults on a non-audition basis, stands at 130 and is limited only by the size of available rehearsal and performance spaces. Such is the demand for places that there is often a lengthy waiting list.
For many members, Voices of Bray has provided their first experience of singing in a choir. For Musical Director John Ivory, one of the challenges is choosing a repertoire that is accessible to less experienced singers, and yet provides a challenge to the more experienced members – a balance that so far has proved very successful in the development of the choir.
The choir is always seeking new challenges. To date they have participated twice in the North Wales Choral Festival and most recently in 2020 – just before Covid shut down most of the arts industry – the choir achieved 2nd place in the community choir section of the Limerick Choral Festival. That was the choir’s last public performance until December 2022.
Now fully up and running again, the choir is delighted to be back in the Mermaid Arts Centre to celebrate its 10th anniversary. For this year’s programme, John Ivory explains that he resisted the temptation to make it a ‘greatest hits’ type show by relying on past material. Instead, with a few exceptions, the programme is mostly new material for the choir while maintaining the usual eclectic mix – ranging from Vivaldi to Viva La Vida, it promises to be a very exciting and entertaining show with something for everyone.
Apart from celebrating what has been achieved from a singing perspective, the choir’s anniversary also marks ten years of fundraising for local charities. During that time, €70,000 has been raised benefitting 17 different charities. For the upcoming summer shows the choir is delighted to be partnering with St. Joseph’s Shankill – Dedicated to Dementia Care.
The concerts take place on June 8th, 9th and 10th at 8pm in the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray. Tickets are €20 (€17 concessions) and are available online at www.mermaidartscentre.ie or from the Mermaid Arts Centre Box Office at 01-2724030.
Voices of Bray Community Choir is an open and inclusive choir, formed with the primary objective of making choral music for the enjoyment of its members and for the community and the surrounding areas. The choir promotes the well-being of its members through the enjoyment of singing. Emphasis is also placed on promoting a community spirit and social interaction among its members.
Although based in Bray, our membership spans north Wicklow and south County Dublin.
We hold two concerts annually to raise funds for local charities and causes.