Dromore choir show off their talents in BBC ‘Sing’ project

A LOCAL choir proudly raised the voice of Tyrone at the recent six-county ‘BBC Sing!’ competition.

Harmonise, based in Dromore, had all its members selected to take part in the BBC Sing programme last Monday.

The Dromore choir was joined, and led by, Gathered Voices, a Dungannon choir led by Mairead Duffy.

Officially released last week, the live ‘BBC Sing!’ included an hour-long radio broadcast, with one song performed by each choir. After each county’s performance, all choirs joined together for two collective songs, uniting voices from across the North in harmony.

Fionnuala Colton, Harmonise’s musical director, said: “It was just the most amazing event; to have performed alongside 700 singers in the Ulster Hall was just incredible.

“For a local choir like us, we mostly perform at small community events, so something like this was a big leap for us to take,.”

She also reflected on the learning experience of collaborating with other directors.

“But as one of our members said, it’s a thing ticked off our bucket list – something we could have never dreamt of,” said Fionnuala.

Following the event, Fionnuala emphasised the choir’s commitment to local performances.

“As much as this was a big thing for us and such a fantastic experience, it’s the local events that matter the most to us. In the next few months, we’ll be getting involved in local music events and festivals, especially going into the summer period.”

The ‘BBC Sing!’ performance is available on BBC Sounds.