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Acclaimed choir in concert in Enniskillen Cathedral

 


Renaissance Choir.

Music lovers are in for a treat in St. Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen on Friday evening, 3 February when the acclaimed Chamber Choir, Renaissance will be in concert.

The concert beginning at 7.30pm, will be the first of the choir’s visits to the town under the leadership of renowned Northern Irish musician Simon Neill-O’Brien BEM on the first-anniversary of his appointment as Renaissance’s Artistic Director.

Simon has long been Director of Music of St Polycarp’s Choir, Belfast, a choir which he has transformed into one of the largest parish choirs in Ireland which regularly host concerts, participate in broadcasts, create recordings, tour through the United Kingdom and Ireland in such historic surroundings as Westminster Abbey and Cambridge Colleges.

St Polycarp’s now has over 30 children, teenagers and young adults on choral scholarships as well as its adult membership.

Simon is a full-time teacher, a much sought after accompanist, a strong advocate for youth in music, and involved in several governor and advisory roles throughout the province.

For services to the City of Belfast and the community, Simon was honoured with a Medal of the Order of the British Empire at the age of 29.

Renaissance will be premiering their 2023 Choral Programme, ‘Music of Stillness’ at Enniskillen Cathedral featuring a wealth of sacred and secular music focusing on the sublime nature of life, love, and service.

Proceeds raised will support the on-going refurbishment of the Cathedral’s significant pipe organ.

Renaissance, based in Belfast, was founded in 1976 by the late Ronnie Lee MBE, Head of Music at Grosvenor Grammar School.

The Choir spent its early years building up a notable local reputation and in 1984, it entered and won the inaugural BBC Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year Competition. This resulted in a concert in London’s Barbican with Sir Charles Groves and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It also led to concerts and recitals in Edinburgh and Dublin.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Renaissance was involved in a number of concerts and recordings with the Ulster Orchestra, working closely with the then principal conductor, Yan Pascal Tortelier.