Choir to light up New York

By Ciara Ferguson

A Galway Gospel Choir has been invited to sing in Carnegie Hall in New York City next year – but to get there, they need to secure notes of the non-musical kind!

Because the IGNITE Gospel Choir have set a target of €33,000 to fund the experience of a lifetime when they participate in a performance of ‘Handel’s Messiah’ for the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Concert Series in December 2019.

DCINY is the leading producer of dynamically charged musical excellence, with a global community of artists and audiences and empowering educational programs.

Keara McDonald, director and founder of IGNITE Gospel Choir said she is both “delighted and terrified,” about the performance, but that it is a “great honour” to be selected.

IGNITE were scouted online by DCINY and invited to audition.

“It’s not something we looked for,” Keara said, “we’re a community gospel choir.”

They used a clip from their YouTube channel as their audition piece.

Dr Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for DCINY said: “IGNITE Gospel Choir Galway received this invitation because of the quality and level of musicianship demonstrated by the singers.”

“These wonderful musicians not only represent a high quality of music and education, but they also become ambassadors for the entire community,” he said.

They will join choirs from all over the world, but they are the only choir participating from Ireland on this occasion and the only choir from Galway ever to participate in the annual event.

Keara originally set up IGNITE Gospel Choir because she felt that there was a “gap in the market for people to express themselves through song.”

She has a ‘no audition’ policy because she believes it’s “not about having a great singing ability,” but about “blending” everyone together to create “one voice.”

She described them as a “wonderful, vibrant choir” who have earned over €130,000 for charities and have performed for numerous events.

These include busking in the Christmas Market for an hour and raising €430 for Cancer Care West, performing on Mental Health Day at St. Nicholas’ Church and the Their Lives Matter Ball.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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