Sonoran Desert Chorale, the top professional choir of the American South West will perform in Galway Cathedral on Wednesday June 7.
The concert, which is free of charge, is part of the choir’s three city tour of Ireland which will see them also perform in Kilkenny (June 10 ) and Christchurch Cathedral Dublin (June 12 ).
The 60-strong ensemble is directed by their founder Jeff Harris, who was named the 2008 Arizona Music Educator of the Year by the Arizona Music Educators Association and was honored in early 2015 with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Chorale’s excellence has been recognized by their peers, as they have twice been selected to perform for the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association.
Performing members of the Choral come from communities throughout Phoenix. Many are music educators but they also have engineers, mathematicians, business professionals and stay at home mums and dads. The choir’s repertoire for their Galway concert will included Renaissance and contemporary Irish compositions as well as arrangements of Irish folk songs
The choir is hoping to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin and is asking members of the public for a small donation at the door. Opened in 2004, The Ronald McDonald House provides accommodation and a caring and supportive environment for families whose children are seriously ill and are hospitalised or undergoing medical treatment. 276 families from Galway have availed of the service provided by the charity.
