Choir ‘chorales’ another impressive win

STRABANE Chorale, previously Strabane Chamber Choir, went back to winning ways at the weekend as they took first spot at the National Mixed Voice Competition in Navan.

Held for the first time in four years, the competition saw Strabane Chorale up against seven other choirs from all over Ireland.

Choirmaster Gerard Bradley was elated at the win, saying, “The entire group are delighted to have retained the title of Best Mixed Voice Choir. We were champions the last time that the competition was held in 2019 and to have triumphed again is a wonderful achievement. It feels great to be back in competition again.

“It was very pleasing to hear the adjudicators say that they had a very easy decision to make when the results were read out, they were very praiseworthy in noting that everything about the performance was perfect.”

Gerard has previously spoken about how important it was to get the choir back into the swing of things post-pandemic. “Normally, the choir takes part in three festivals; one in Navan, Sligo and Mayo respectively. The other two have yet to resume after the pandemic, so it was nice to have Navan as something to look forward to. It can be difficult to get restarted after a long lay-off, with people content to stay indoors, but not only have we got the choir back out, we have actually increased our numbers.

“The increase in numbers is what instigated the name change. A chamber choir is traditionally a fairly small group of singers. When we had 24, that constituted a chamber choir but since we’ve grown to 34 members, the term ‘chamber choir’ doesn’t fit so ‘Strabane Chorale’ was a lovely change – and its great to have won our first competition with the new moniker.”

Strabane Chorale’s next competition is the Derry Choral Festival in October and they’re hoping for another triumph to add to the burgeoning collection of accolades.

The local group will be performing their prize-winning set from the Navan competition at a special, free open-air concert in the Alley Theatre courtyard on June 16.