A West Cork choir took Berlin by storm recently when they performed several singing ‘flashmobs’ across the city, entertaining both locals and visitors alike.
A WEST Cork choir took Berlin by storm recently when they performed several singing ‘flashmobs’ across the city, entertaining both locals and visitors alike.
The Glaslinn Choir, based in Bandon, was in the German capital for the Berlin International Choral Festival, where they picked up a prize for Best Repertoire.
It was a case of wherever they visited, they burst into song, showcasing their wonderful vocal abilities.
‘Our weekend there was a combination of singing and sightseeing and we just decided to sing wherever we visited. Our first one was at the famous Brandenburg Gate where we sang ‘Joshua’ and people there were delighted with us,’ Helen O’Mahony, PRO, told The Southern Star.
‘Our next stop was outside the steps of the Opera House where we sang Kodály’s ‘Ave Maria’ and then we went to a market outside a church and sang ‘California Dreaming’ and ‘Go Down Moses.’ On Sunday we also visited Pottsdam Palaces and burst into song there too.’
If that wasn’t enough, the three-part female choir even entertained passengers with four songs at the departure gates at Berlin Airport on the way home, much to the delight of the waiting passengers, with one even uploading a video of them singing ‘Hallelujah’ to YouTube.
‘When we got on the plane the air hostess asked us to sing too, and while we were landing into Dublin Airport we sang ‘Hail Holy Queen’ and the rest of the passengers on the flight joined in,’ added Helen.
Antoinette Baker conducts the choir and they were accompanied on the Berlin trip by Anne Healy-Mayes on piano. The choir took part in the recent Cork International Choral Festival too, and their next outing is a charity event called ‘Sing with hAttitude’ in Bandon Town Hall on Sunday May 15th.
This event is being organised in conjunction with the Kinsale hat shop Hattitude, and the choir will be modeling the shop’s hats while singing, and the money raised from the event will be divided between Bandon Town Hall, Engage Arts Festival and Bandon Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre (BHOC). Tickets are €15 and the concert begins at 3pm, following a cheese and wine reception that starts at 2.30pm that has been sponsored by SuperValu Bandon and Bandon Co-op.
The choir is always looking for new members and they rehearse every Wednesday in St Peter’s Church in Bandon at 8pm. See www.glaslinnchoir.ie for more.
