Carmina Burana – Messa di Gloria concert in Mullingar March 4th
Mullingar’s internationally renowned soprano Ailish Tynan with tenor Peter Kerr, and baritone Owen Gilhooly formed the soloist lineup for the Mullingar Choral Society’s Puccini Messa di Gloria and Orff’s Carmina Burana concert which took place in the Cathedral Of Christ the King Mullingar at 8.00pm on Sunday March 4th.
Fergus O’Carroll (By kind permission RTE National Symphony Orchestra) conducted Puccini’s Messa di Gloria while Gavin Maloney took the baton for Orff’s Carmina Burana. The Mullingar Choral Society’s 100 voiced choir was joined by the Cathedral Choir and the Boys of Cor Scoil Mhuire, Mullingar. As in past years, the Dublin Baroque Players orchestra paid a return to Mullingar to complete an exceptional convergence of singers and players which assured an evening of outstanding musical enjoyment.
And this is what Musical Director Fergus O’Carroll had to say after the concert -
“ As Musical Director, it is my ongoing target that each annual concert shows some development in the musical achievements of the choir and every year thus far, I have felt that we have achieved that goal. That is not to say that the performance has been better each year but that there has been a definite and tangible development in some aspect of the choirs performance. Some years the works are easier and the performance is really good where as other performances do not have the same polish because of the increased difficulty of the work being performed.
This last concert was, in quality terms, the highlight of my association with the choir – so much choral singing and the confidence of the choir was sky high. Considering our open membership status, I am extremely happy with the results – good balance, sound and high performance confidence.
Soprano Ailish Tynan, was born in Mullingar and is a graduate of Trinity College, the Royal Irish Academy of Music , Dublin, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. Ailish won the Rosenblatt Recital Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. She was a Vilar Young Artist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and a BBC New Generation Artist. Other awards include the Maggie Teyte Competition, Miriam Licette Award and the RTÉ Millennium Singer of the Future.
Owen Gilhooly,baritone, studied at the Limerick School of Music with Jean Holmes and in Dublin with Conor Farren. A graduate of the Royal College of Music where he held the Peter Pears Exhibition, his prizes include the Madeline Finden Memorial Prize and the Great Elm Vocal Award. He continued his studies at the National Opera Studio and with Russell Smythe, supported by the Belfast Classical Music Bursary, the Irish Arts Council, the RVW Trust, the Sibyl Tutton Trust and Chris Ball. In 2007 he represented Ireland at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.
Tenor, Peter Kerr, was born in Dublin, where he was a chorister and later a Lay Vicar Choral at St Patrick’s Cathedral. He has established a firm reputation as one of the leading oratorio and concert singers in Ireland, also undertaking operatic rôles and performing frequently for Irish radio and television. He now lives in London, singing with the English National Opera, and continuing a career that takes him to leading venues in England and Ireland.
