By Cian Molloy - 03 May, 2020
Dublin’s famous Palestrina Choir has launched a recruiting campaign to find new boy choristers – and St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls’ Choir are recruiting too.
Both choirs are looking for children in first class, primary school, aged between seven and eight years.
Members of the Palestrina Choir appearing on RTE’s Late Late Show two years ago.
Musical director Blánaid Murphy says: “No prior musical education or training is necessary. However, we are ideally looking for boys and girls who love to sing and enjoy music, who enjoy working as a member of a team, who are prepared to commit to the life of the pro-cathedral and the Archdiocese of Dublin and who would like to travel to other cities, in other countries, and would enjoy a challenge.”
Internationally renowned, the Palestrina Choir has been a feature of the liturgical life of Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral since 1903 and it is the only Catholic cathedral choir of its type in Ireland. St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls’ Choir was founded in 2009 and has already won great acclaim.
There are many benefits to being part of a cathedral choir, says Murphy. These include: receiving a unique musical education with voice training and musical literacy; learning to work to deadlines; being part of an important musical heritage and getting the opportunity to make life-long friends.
Obviously, auditions and rehearsals cannot take place while current pandemic restrictions on travel and social distance apply, but the pro-cathedral would like to receive applications from interested boys and girls by Friday 22 May at the latest. Application forms are available by sending an email to procathedralauditions@gmail.com
In the meantime, you can listen to the Palestrina Choir’s recording of Queen of the May here. Sunday Mass at St Mary’s today will be live streamed at 11 a.m. on www.procathedral.ie
