The Guinness Choir has celebrated its 75th year with a special anniversary concert, The City of our Dreaming, in Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral.
The primary text for the concert was an original poem by poet Paula Meehan, commissioned by the Guinness Choir with music composed by Seán Doherty.
The poem was commissioned to honour the choir’s roots and traditions in Dublin and to provide a poetic and choral map of the city.
The concert last month was the world premiere of this bespoke composition and part of the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival.
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The performance featured other pieces from the choir’s repertoire, including Bach, Fauré, Stanford and Verdi, under Ciarán Kelly’s direction.
The concert – attended by about 600 people, including President Catherine Connolly – featured soloist Leanne Fitzgerald and organist David Leigh, with a special appearance by well known Dublin musician Bren Berry.
The Guinness Choir, founded in 1951, was created for Guinness Brewery employees and has been independent since 2016.
The choir, which has more than 100 members and is funded by Spry Finance and the DPS Group, has continued its commitment to bringing masterpieces to the public through amateur singing.
Guinness Choir chairman John Healy said “we were thrilled and delighted to commission this large cantata”, which was more than 20 minutes long. He described the performance as having a “significant impact” on the audience.
This month the Guinness Choir will embark on a singing tour of England, including concerts in Cambridge and Norwich.
