Moate Children’s Choir are continuing the strong choral tradition of their home town, singing their way to a national title at the ESB Feis Ceoil. The 30-strong choir from Moate are walking on air after scooping first prize in the Junior Choirs category of the national competition which took place last Wednesday March 18 at the RDS in Dublin.
The win is the second big scoop in recent times for a Moate choir, coming just a few months after the Moate Community School Choir took first place in the All-Island School Choir competition.
Under the choral direction of Ciaran Brady - director of The Academy of Music, Tullamore - the young singers captivated a packed auditorium with their performances of ‘I Hear Spring Calling’ and ‘The Birds Lament’ accompanied on piano by Tatyana Vykhodsteva.
Beating off stiff competition from several well-polished choral performances from all around the country, it was music to the ears of all involved when they were deemed the outright winners.
The judges applauded the choir in all aspects of their singing and singled them out for praise for being “a well disciplined group, with excellent vocal production, technical knowledge and a captivating performance”.
As winners of their category the choir were invited to perform at the Winners Concert in the RDS Concert Hall where they wowed the audience of a packed auditorium. They were also recorded and interviewed by RTÉ for a special documentary to be aired in April.
Moate Children’s Choir was founded in 2007 by director Ciaran Brady, and the average age is 11 years old. The choir work with sheet music, learn to sight read, and receive vocal training through an enjoyable environment whilst being immersed in fine choral music.
They won first place at Limerick Choral Festival in 2012 and have won many awards at other national choral competitions. The choir sing at 10am Mass every Sunday of the academic year in St Patrick’s Church, Moate.
