CITY OF DERRY INTERNATIONAL

THE MAIDEN CITY SINGS

Live music makes a heavenly return at the City of Derry International Choir Festival

Choir [noun]: a group of people who sing together.

When you think of choir singing, what pops into your head? Perhaps it’s the haunting vocals of church choirs singing songs of praise and providing the soundtrack to lazy Sunday mornings. Maybe it’s the image of a flamboyant Whoopi Goldberg bringing some sass to Saint Katherine’s Convent Choir, the characters of Glee jazzing up the school choir repertoire with a fresh new take on modern classics or perhaps its James Corden and a celebrity guest rocking out to Carpool Karaoke. Whatever your definition, it only takes two (or more).

As a country renowned for its musical talent, it comes as no surprise to learn that Northern Ireland is home to the largest international choir festival of its kind in the UK – and it’s popularity is growing. The City of Derry International Choir Festival (CoDICF) filled the Maiden City with song in late October as the ninth annual festival got underway, engaging a global audience of over 70,000 people and uniting them in song.

From workplace choirs to community choirs and even Grammy Award winners, the choir festival brought a palpable sense of joy as it returned for a mix of online and in-person events, offering audiences the chance to enjoy live music once again.

Running over five full days, the Festival featured a stellar programme of events including exclusive global premiere performances and a choral trail with live music staged all across the city. Star attractions included the internationally acclaimed all-male chorus “Chanticleer” and the award-winning vocal ensemble “Tenebrae.”

A city known for its culture – and its craic – was brought to life once more with the return of live music echoing from some of City of Derry’s most prestigious venues, with sold out concerts in St Columba’s Church, Long Tower and St. Columb’s Cathedral.

On their respective nights, Derry Chamber Choir ‘Codetta’ and ‘Tenebrae’ were singing to full (albeit socially-distanced) houses for the first time in nearly two years.

The Festival also commissioned four brand-new pieces of choral music that enjoyed their world premieres to delighted audiences including a piece by Antrim composer Elaine Agnew and a special Colmcille 1500 celebratory choral piece by award-winning Irish composer Eoghan Desmond.

Fiona Crosbie, Festival Manager, chatted to us about how the festival was helping breathe new life into the city and the joy felt by the choral community to be able to come together to rehearse and perform once again.

“We can’t express how happy we are to be back singing together and to be bringing such a varied and exciting programme to the City. The Festival created such a buzz around the area and the feeling of live music just can’t be beaten, it made the whole community realise just how much we had missed it,” Fiona said.

The Opening Gala Concert – The Voyage

Kicking off the Festival was the mesmerising Opening Gala Concert at the Millennium Forum. Award-winning conductor and composer Bob Chilcott gave audiences a deeply moving orchestral and vocal performance of The Voyage, depicting the voyage through life, and how we come to terms with the challenges it brings.

The audience were also captivated by the first ever live performance of a brand new work by Antrim composer Elaine Agnew entitled Remarkable – and it truly was. Commissioned by Arts Care Northern Ireland and Ulster Orchestra, with words written by BBC broadcaster John Toal, the piece was performed by Derry chamber choir Codetta and the Ulster Orchestra. what we have gone through during the pandemic. It is inspired by the different stories of frontline workers at different stages,” said Fiona.

“We are all so grateful to so many frontline workers, and with lyrics like “This song is a prayer for remarkable people,” it was on one hand poignant, yet, also full of gratitude for everything they have done for us.” Fiona added.

Tenebrae

The Festival boasted some big names on the choir scene, including renowned UK vocal ensemble Tenebrae, who received a rousing reception for their return to Derry for a sold-out performance in St Columb’s Cathedral. This exceptional choir’s reputation and their awards speak for themselves. No strangers to the festival, Tenebrae have performed many times in Derry and were excited to come back and fill the cathedral with their beautiful, flawless performance.

Their musical director and founder, Nigel Short, led the ensemble, famed for their passion and precision, in what was a true highlight of the festival and it was clear everyone in the audience felt blessed to have experienced such an evening.

Grammy Award-winning talent

Donning their coats and tails for the occasion, was this year’s headline artists for the virtual programme, the Grammy awardwinning all-male a cappella ensemble “Chanticleer”, from San Francisco, California.

The ensemble was founded in 1978 and remain very much the “world’s reigning male chorus,” performing concerts in every corner of the world.

Their brilliant virtual debut at the Derry festival featured a bespoke recorded concert. “Known internationally as “the orchestra of voices,” they certainly lived up to this for their virtual debut for the festival and it was a real treat for everyone who tuned in,” said Fiona Crosbie.

“It truly highlights how we have been able to respond to music virtually in a different, but meaningful way, during the pandemic. It also shows how the arts and artists have diversified. We’ve seen them

holding everything from Instagram live performances in their sitting rooms, music duets with fans, as well as concerts in silent venues across the globe that attracted enormous audiences.”

The Road Home and Colmcille 1500

As ever, there was a rapturous reception on the second day of the festival for local award-winning Derry chamber choir Codetta, who performed their headline concert at St Columba’s Church, Long Tower.

The limited capacity event was attended by 200 people and featured a stunningly beautiful programme including Stephen Paulus’ “The Road Home” in the Long Tower Church with Derry cellist Kim Vaughan and the world premiere of a newly commissioned choral work by Irish composer Eoghan Desmond.

This new work was chosen in partnership with The Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland, as part of the year-long Colmcille 1500 celebratory programme, which was coordinated by Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council, to celebrate the life and legacy of Colmcille.

The Return of the School Choir

Every year the festival engages school choirs to nurture young talent and encourage more young people to discover their musical talents. So many pupils couldn’t contain their excitement at being back for the festival’s school performances.

CoDICF’s non-competitive format for primary school years encouraged children and teachers to take part in the fun and community-spirited “Primary Big Sing” event in Millennium Forum which was held on Thursday.

Along with all the fun, there were songs, games and rhymes, and a specially composed piece for young voices by leading Catalan composer and conductor, Josep Vila i Casañas, with texts by Irish poets Enda Wyley and Catherine Ann Cullen which was a huge hit with the participants.

For older students, the post primary schools came back for a day of singing on Friday which was also utterly joyful for all those involved.

Bringing Singing Back to the Community

“Let’s Just Sing!” was a terrific community singing event where singers of all experience levels were invited to join a singing session led by some of the festival’s best known community choir leaders including Siobhan Heaney (Momentum, Pink Ladies, NW Cancer Centre Choir, Song for the Soul and Sing Tonicity).

Participants threw themselves into a fabulous afternoon of music workshopping and performing classic hits like “Stand by Me” and “Something Inside So Strong.”

“One of my favourite parts of the festival was seeing the sheer talent and passion for music in the local singers taking part in the festival,” said Ms Crosbie.

“Particularly this year, it was amazing to see people getting together and singing as a group again. It is so important to us to get local communities involved in the festival. Music has a unifying power and you could see how much that connection had been missed.”

A Truly Global Festival

Last year’s online festival generated an unprecedented 250,000 views from 50 countries worldwide and this year the festival reached across the globe once more with a fresh offering of new virtual events.

The festival made another successful international call out for choirs around the world, and the 2021 “Virtual Choral Trail” featured 66 choirs from six continents. The “Trail” was open to all choirs of any size, musical style and make-up from anywhere in the world and this year it welcomed applicants from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Philippines, Russia and more, including choirs from Ireland and across the UK.

This year’s “Trail” featured a gorgeous and entertaining mix of local, national and international choirs including workplace choirs who had gotten together during lockdown for a social outlet for connection with song.

There was also a very special virtual concert featuring previous winners of the competition’s “Oak Tree of Derry Trophy”, featuring choirs from Estonia, Indonesia, Ireland, Slovenia and Wales.

Workplace Choirs

A number of workplace choirs got involved in the “Virtual Choral Trail” element of the Festival including the Derry City and Strabane District Council Choir and Fidelity Sings, a global choir set up in investment management firm, Fidelity Investments.

From singing in board rooms to singing over zoom, the pandemic made the workplace choir experience very different. Derry City and Strabane District Council choir put together their choral trail video from recording themselves individually on their phone, only meeting up outside, socially distanced to record the video. During the recording, Covid-19 restrictions prevented the group from singing together, so they were forced to mime on the video.

Most interestingly, the introduction of a workplace choir has been increasing in popularity of late as more companies choose this collaborative vocal art to help invigorate, motivate, and encourage greater staff participation.

The workplace choir embraces the healing power of singing and its ability to promote social connectedness, enjoyment at work, staff engagement and reduce stress.

City of Derry

Ms Crosbie said that the City of Derry itself was just as much an important part of the success of the festival as the music and it was heart-warming to see how the music resonated with the locals, as well as with visitors and those who watched online around the world.

“One of the very best and beautiful things about Derry is the warmth and generosity of its people, and its welcome, and we saw that that welcome made its impact with an even bigger global audience this year,” she said.

“Whether it was in person or online, Derry made its mark and resonated with so many people, which is what it is all about. Our festival showcases this wonderful place and is a true celebration of song, and the joy it brings.”

The 2021 Festival was funded by Arts Council Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities, Derry & Strabane District Council, Inner City Trust, The Community Foundation, Donegal County Council, Creative Ireland Programme, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and sponsored by Tourism Northern Ireland, Caldwell & Robinson Solicitors, Allstate NI and FinTrU.

For more information visit: derrychoirfest.com

TRY