Connacht Tribune
Galway ensemble fundraises for trip to Carnegie Hall
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.
There are 85 people in the choir, with ages ranging from 17 to 76 with a mix of single people, couples, people who participate for fun, healing purposes, to reconnect and for the social aspect, to name a few.
Keara feels that joining the choir helps people with their confidence – not only within the choir but within their personal life too.
A total of 48 people will be travelling to sing in New York in December and Keara said they hope to have everything ready by May. They also hope to perform ‘Handel’s Messiah’ for the people of Galway before they leave.
The choir rehearses every Thursday at 7:30pm in St. Joseph’s Church but according to Dr. Griffith, the singers will spend an additional nine or ten hours rehearsing over their five-day stay in New York.
He himself will lead the performance in New York and he described the event as something that represents “extreme pride for everybody” and is “deserving of the community’s recognition and support.”
“Not all of the time is spent in rehearsals since there is so much history and culture to see in New York City. However, the performance is the primary purpose for their visit to the city,” Dr. Griffith said.
Members of the community are encouraged to give financial support in sending the singers to New York. They have a target of €33,000 and hope to launch the fundraising and donations on their tenth anniversary on October 26.
Keara is asking for the community to sponsor a singer or donate to the choir- “anything the community can do.”
“We always give back and have never asked for anything in return,” she said, but now they are asking the community of Galway to help them in any way they can – by coming to their concerts and events to help raise the money they need to help the choir represent Galway city.
If you wish to donate to sending the Galway choir to New York City, you can do so by contacting Keara at ignitegospelchoirgalway@gmail.com
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
