Choirs fine-tune repertoire ahead of All-Island contest

Three local secondary school choirs are fine-tuning their voices as they prepare to take part in the upcoming All-Island Choir Competition. Meath is the only county to have three choirs vying for honours at the prestigious event - Loreto St Michael's and St Joseph's Mercy in Navan, and Scoil Mhuire in Trim. RTE's Tommy Gorman and a camera crew were in Loreto Secondary School, St Michael's, Navan, last week, to record the school's participation. The competition choir was established in the centenary year of Loreto St Michael's, in 2004. The choir enters competitions and performs at various school events. The St Michael's choir has 44 members this year and they rehearse weekly after school, usually on Tuesdays, under musical director Olivia Toman. The choir members consist of second years to Leaving Certificate students. A total of 46 choirs entered the All-Island Competition Choir Competition this year. Twenty choirs will now battle it out to reach the final, which will take place in Derry. The semi-final takes place in Castlebar, Co Mayo, next Tuesday, 18th October. St Joseph's Mercy Convent, Navan, is also in with a shout and its choral singers are currently getting themselves "match fit", according to choir leader, Aideen O'Sullivan. "We've upped rehearsals, but not by too much. There's no point rehearsing every day but we have a rehearsal in the Solstice to get used to the similar acoustic of Castlebar (in the Royal Theatre). Ms O'Sullivan cannot reveal what two songs have been chosen for the night but said that one was an "intricate polyphonic acapella piece" and that the other was a "recognisable lullaby". Excitement is building in the school and the choir of 58 has yet to be whittled down the maximum 40 that can be chosen to perform. "There's a great mix between the inexperienced and experienced and we have second year pupils up to sixth years involved," she added. "We're delighted to be involved, along with Scoil Mhuire and Loreto, and that means that, outside Dublin, Navan has two choirs, making it the only town to do so and the county had three, which also makes it the only county to do so. "It says a lot about the good work being done around the county and the whole competition is just to showcase the good work being done," Ms O'Sullivan said. Scoil Mhuire in Trim makes up the talented trio of choirs and school principal Jacqueline Maher said that experienced local choir leader Jane Lynch will have to take her group down from 85 accomplished singers that she calls "one of the best" she has ever worked with. "They are a vibrant and talented choir and, from the very outset, it was clear they had a very keen work ethic and a willingness to explore genres," she said. The students are in their second year competing in the event and, by all accounts, the pressure to re-enter the competition came not from parents or teachers but from the students themselves who have also formed a choir committee. The choir at the school was only re-established in 2007 but already have been outstanding at a recent Liam Lawton choir night in Trim and have won a category at the Sligo international competition last year.