Cois Cladaigh choir will present a concert of seasonal music at St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church this Saturday evening, December, 14, at 8pm.  The event, entitled A Voice from the Sky, is in aid of the city-based charity HopeSpace which provides a free one-to-one, in-person listening service to children and young adults who have been affected by loss and grief through bereavement.

The choir will be joined by the ConTempo Quartet and Ramin Haghjoo piano for Silent Night, arranged by Dan Forrest, and John Rutter’s Star Carol.

Cois Cladaigh which was founded in 1982 by Dr Brendan O’Connor, had a belated 40th anniversary celebration due to Covid, and the group has recently donated a considerable collection of choral music to the University of Galway Music Department. This spans hundreds of years from the Renaissance to contemporary, living composers.  The archive will be available in the University library for future generations to explore and, hopefully, be inspired, according Liz Johnston of Cois Cladaigh.

Material donated includes posters, written documentation of the group’s history and photographs of various occasions, including Cois Cladaigh’s performance at the inauguration of Michael D. Higgins as President of Ireland in 2011.  It also contains testimonials and tributes to the founder and director Dr Brendan O’Connor, to its current musical director Daniel Beuster, and others who have supported Cois Cladaigh over the years.  The choir has been involved in the cultural fabric of Galway for more than four decades and this memorabilia represents the rich tapestry of events and occasions, at home and abroad, that its members have been a part of.

Cois Cladaigh has a long association with the University of Galway and in recent years, has offered places to UG students to help continue and encourage choral singing among young people during the academic year.

The group continues to perform works by living composers and the programme for this Saturday night’s concert will include music by Damien Kehoe, Bob Chilcott, and Erik Esenvald’s setting of the Northern Lights, complete with handheld bells and tuned glasses.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite and at the door, and cost €20/15.  Doors open 7.30pm and the concert will start at 8pm.

Pictured: At the event to mark the handing over of Cois Cladaigh’s archive to the University of Galway were: Head of Heritage Collections and Digitisation at the university, Catriona Cannon; Ger O Donohoe and Liz Johnston of Cois Cladaigh; Head of Music at UG, Dr Aidan Thomson; Professor of Mathematics, Aisling McCluskey; and Archivist at the university’s James Hardiman Library, Barry Houlihan.