Choral Sketches – Next Generation Artists
Choral Sketches is a project that is co-delivered by Chamber Choir Ireland and the Contemporary Music Centre and developed with composer Tarik O’Regan. It offers a unique professional development opportunity for composers who wish to develop their skills in writing choral music with an internationally recognised composer mentor. The purpose of the Choral Sketches initiative is to provide a creative and open environment for composers to deepen their experience in writing for voices in a choral context.
Choral Sketches 2023:
Throughout 2023, composers Timothy Ethan Doyle, Brian Keegan and Conor McGlone will be mentored by renowned Irish composer, Rhona Clarke, as they bring their own unique compositional styles to choral music.
In April 2023, they brought their early musical ideas to an open workshop with Chamber Choir Ireland and guest director Sofi Jeannin as part of New Music Dublin. Audiences will get the chance to hear their finished pieces later this year.
Choral Sketches 2020/21:
In this fourth year of Choral Sketches, renowned composer, participating composers received mentorship from Kevin Volans and Eoghan Desmond. Following an anonymous selection process, composers David Bremner, Kerry Hagan and Peter Moran were selected to participate in the project in 2020.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, their workshop with Chamber Choir Ireland and Guest Director Nils Schweckendiek was not open to the public. Their finished pieces were performed publicly in a final read-through with Paul Hillier and the singers of Chamber Choir Ireland, as part of New Music Dublin 2021.
Choral Sketches 2018/19:
Following an anonymous selection process, composers Anselm McDonnell, Sinéad Finegan, and Eoin Mulvany were selected to participate in the Choral Sketches project for 2018/19.
In addition to the mentoring received from Tarik O’Regan, each composer had their sketches workshopped by Chamber Choir Ireland and conductor Paul Hillier in February 2019, with performance readings of the final works in early 2020.
A selection of photos from the public workshop in February 2019 can be viewed in the GALLERY
Choral Sketches 2017/18:
Following an anonymous selection process, composers Norah Walsh, Jug Markovic, David Coonan and Barry O’Halpin were selected to participate in Choral Sketches 2017/2018. Serbian composer, Jug Markovic’s participation was supported by TENSO – the network of professional chamber choirs in Europe.
In addition to the mentoring received from Tarik O’Regan, each composer had their sketches workshopped by Chamber Choir Ireland and guest conductor Nils Schweckendiek in February 2018, with performance readings of the final works later that year.
A video compilation of the workshop can be viewed below and a selection of photos from the public workshop in February 2019 can be viewed in the GALLERY
Choral Sketches 2016/2017
Composers Amanda Feery, Sean Doherty and Michael Gallen were selected to participate in the very first Choral Sketches and received mentoring from composer, Tarik O’Regan. Their initial sketches were presented in a public workshop by Chamber Choir Ireland, conducted by Paul Hillier in the Organ Room of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in February 2017.
You can watch a video compilation including interviews with the participating composers and mentor below: