Orla Gargan, Musical Director of Dublin Gospel Choir writes for Culture ahead of the choir's forthcoming appearances at the St. Patrick's Festival, on March 16th and 17th.
Dublin Gospel Choir was originally formed as St. Mary of the Angels Gospel Choir in 1996 as part of a school graduation ceremony in St. Joseph's School in Stanhope Street where the students took inspiration from the movie Sister Act. With a single performance, the seed had been sown and now 24 years later the choir has grown and developed to a group of over 60 members. Over 350 singers have passed through our doors over the lifetime of the choir and we consider them all part of the big family! There is something especially bonding about singing together in harmony and the choir is something very close to all our hearts.
Over the years, the choir has sung in a myriad of different venues all over Ireland and in Europe – performing at theatres and festivals including our annual 'Sunday Service’ slot at Electric Picnic. We have performed with many different artists in all genres including John Legend, Outkast, Rod Stewart, Kodaline, Damien Rice and as a 100-strong choir performing with Ennio Morricone. It will always be an amazing experience to collaborate with other artists and to share their music.
Our next event sees us perform as part of St. Patrick's Festival which runs from March 13th – 17th. The festival always brings a vibrant and dynamic showcase of Ireland’s rich culture and heritage, both traditional and contemporary. We’re just one event of hundreds in the programme which sees events throughout Dublin from music, performance art, spoken word and literature to tours, food events, family fun and much more.
We will be performing in the beautiful surroundings of the Pepper Canister on March 16th and 17th. The Pepper Canister was the last of a series of Georgian Churches built by the Church of Ireland in the 1800s. It is still used as a place of worship but also hosts musical events on a regular basis. As part of St. Patrick’s Festival we will be bringing our own signature gospel sound and also paying tribute to some of Ireland’s finest musicians with songs by U2 and the Cranberries.
We’re also thrilled to welcome Kitt Philippa and UMAN as special guests for these concerts. We had the pleasure of performing with both artists at Electric Picnic and look forward to singing with them again. Kitt Philippa creates the most intimate atmosphere with their music, and for the choir the songs are beautifully calming and inspiring to sing. We met UMAN after taking on a cover of his song Great Flamin’ Day and have since recorded and performed with him on several occasions. Always fantastic songs for a choir to get their teeth into and we look forward to another performance with him!
We’re looking forward to welcoming you all to the Pepper Canister next week...
Dublin Gospel Choir plus guests Kitt Philippa & UMAN perform at The Pepper Canister on March 16th and 17th at 8pm as part of St. Patrick’s Festival 2020 - find out more here.
