Paddy Leonard, 11 May
Choirs from right across the region are being encouraged to take part
in a magnificent performance as part of this year’s Foyle Maritime
Festival.
A jam packed four-day programme of events will take place from Thursday
27th until Sunday 30th June, with a spectacular showcase taking place
on the Saturday evening with lights, music, animation and a
breathtaking firework display.
‘A Dusk Chorus’, will happen at 8pm on Saturday 29th June as the
opening event for the Festival Showcase along the riverfront. It will
consist of up to 15 local choirs performing an agreed portfolio of
songs for approximately 50 minutes along the riverfront. The choirs
will be staggered at designated locations between the City Hotel and
Sainsbury’s.
Event organisers are now calling on choirs from across Derry, Strabane
and the wider North West region into Donegal and our neighbours in
Inishowen to get involved and help create a human wave of music and
melodies along the riverfront to kickstart the special showcase night.
Helena Hasson, Festival Coordinator, encouraged any local choirs to get
involved in what promises to be an unforgettable experience.
“We are trying to create something we’ve never done before and if we do
it right, we know that this will be a pretty special experience for
everyone involved. We need 12 to 15 local choirs to get involved to do
the concept justice and we know that we have the talent out there on
our doorstep, it’s just getting them involved.
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“We welcome all genres, ages, genders, abilities and sizes of choirs
and will work with each individual group on a one-to-one basis to
facilitate their physical requirements such as access, seating etc. for
their own performance. The songs for the 50-minute performance will be
chosen in a collaborative fashion the choirs, along with the choir
masters and conductors to ensure this is a truly unique event.
“We have already had a great response from several local choirs but
there is definitely room for a few more hence the extended invitation.
It’s important to stress that each choir will be singing in the way
they normally do, regarding composition and key etc. There will be no
set key that choirs sing to and all of the songs will be agreed by the
groups to ensure everyone is comfortable with their performance. We’ve
received numerous song suggestions so far and quite a few choirs have
all proposed the same tracks. It’s not about creating a perfect
performance but one that is united and meaningful so I’d invite any
choir thinking they may like to be part of it to contact the festival
and register.”
The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Beyond Blue’ in acknowledgement
of the power and poetry of our local rivers, seas and oceans and the
poignant relationship we have with them. The theme encourages guests to
look beyond the horizon and see things from a different perspective,
find new ways to meet the needs of society without causing any further
harm to our natural assets.
A range of animation, workshops and performances will take place over
the four days of the festival influenced by this theme however the
festival showcase on Saturday evening. Starting at 8pm and running
until midnight the riverfront will slowly descend into a magical world
of light, fire, tall ships, fireworks and colourful sea creatures to
form a mesmerising riverscape that stretches beyond our everyday
horizon.
The entire process will be managed and arranged by the festival and
events team with support from MRK Events, who are curating the full
Maritime Melodies Programme for the festival. A set fee of £250 will be
paid to each choir that participates in the event, regardless of size,
notoriety etc.
For more information or to apply to take part, please
contact foylemaritime@derrystrabane.com