A Nation s Voice

A Nation s Voice 23 January 2016: A Nations Voice: 1100-strong choir to perform major new work on Easter Sunday

1100 singers to join RT National Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Brophy for open-air free concert at Collins Barracks featuring new work by composer Shaun Davey and writer Paul Muldoon

The Arts Council and RT today announced full details of A Nation's Voice, an open-air, free performance taking place on Easter Sunday afternoon at Collins Barracks, Dublin which will include the world premi re of One Hundred Years a Nation, a major new orchestral and choral work commissioned for the occasion by RT from composer Shaun Davey with text by writer Paul Muldoon, in addition to orchestral works by Se n Riada and Bill Whelan and a massed choirs performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. The event, presented by Miriam O'Callaghan, will be broadcast live on RT One, on RT Radio 1 and on www.rte.ie/1916 .

A Nation's Voice is presented by the Arts Council and RT , in association with the National Museum of Ireland, the Association of Irish Choirs and Music Generation, as part of Ireland 2016.

Orlaith McBride, Director of the Arts Council, said: This is a truly national event, with choirs from right across the country, and the Arts Council is very proud to collaborate with RT , Music Generation, the Association of Irish Choirs and the National Museum of Ireland in its presentation. We're very excited about this extraordinary event on Easter Sunday and we would encourage everyone who loves music to try to be there or tune in to RT Television and Radio.

Noel Curran, Director-General, RT , said: Participation and inclusivity have been at the heart of plans for RT 1916 and A Nation's Voice is no exception. The scale of public involvement, whether as performers, attendees, listeners or viewers, will create a truly unique event of quite epic scale. RT 1916 is pleased to be a part of this special partnership with the Arts Council, Music Generation, the Association of Irish Choirs and the National Museum of Ireland.

Minster for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys, said: A Nation's Voice will be one of the highlights of Easter weekend 2016. It will be wonderful to see more than 1,000 singers both the young and the not so young coming together in Collin's Barracks to mark the centenary in song. This choral celebration will be one of the flagship artistic events of 2016 and thanks to the collaboration between the Arts Council, RT and the partner organisations, people at home and abroad will be able to tune in and enjoy it."

In excess of 1100 voices from 31 choirs and 19 counties, from Cork to Donegal, will join with the full forces of the RT National Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Brophy in performance. Paul Muldoon will also narrate One Hundred Years a Nation. The performance, lasting one hour approximately, is free to the general public. Tickets are limited and will be allocated by means of an online lottery. Full details on how to apply can be found at www.artscouncil.ie.

Some of the choirs have formed especially for the occasion. The singers range in age from 9 to those of senior citizen age, and all participating choir directors have worked closely with conductor David Brophy in advance of their individual rehearsals at local level.

Speaking of his role as composer, Shaun Davey said: It was both a responsibility and a challenge to compose the music for A Nation s Voice, First, to provide a fitting setting for Paul s evocative text, second, to write music for the choirs which is musically and vocally satisfying, and third to help find expression for a year in which the nation not only marks the past but also looks forward to the future, by including a song that contains wishes of hope for future generations.

Writer Paul Muldoon said it was a privilege to be invited to write something for such a big public occasion, but also unnerving. Our hope is that it's a piece that will give people something to think about as they look back on the remarkable achievements of our first century and look forward to meeting the challenges presented by the next one. Most importantly, we wanted to give people a tune they can whistle as they get on with their day .

Ends

Issued By: Assumpta Lawless, Marketing & Communications Manager, RT National Symphony Orchestra

Tel: 01 208 2769 M: +353 87 290 4168 assumpta.lawless@rte.ie

Tara O'Brien, Communications Manager, RT Television,

Tel: 01 2082287 /0863544481 tara.obrien@rte.ie

Joe Stuart, Head of Press, Arts Council, Tel 01 6180235/ 087 41 08751

Notes for editors:

Listings information

Sunday 27 March 2016, Collins Barracks, Dublin

A Nation's Voice

Presented by the Arts Council and RT , in association with the National Museum of Ireland, the Association of Irish Choirs and Music Generation, as part of Ireland 2016. This concert will be broadcast on RT One, on RT Radio 1 and on www.rte.ie/1916.

Shaun Davey (with text by Paul Muldoon) One Hundred Years a Nation (World premiere / RT commission)

Handel Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah

Riada Mise ire (Orchestral Suite)

Bill Whelan Macdara s & An Cistin from Carna

David Brophy conductor

Paul Muldoon narrator

Massed choirs

Soloists to be announced

Tickets: Free, ticketed event. Tickets allocated by means of an online lottery

Booking information: www.artscouncil.ie

Please note re tickets: Tickets will be distributed by lottery and fulfilled through an online ticketing service. Applicants into the lottery will be randomly selected and offered tickets, which they must then confirm before the tickets are ultimately issued. On arrival at the event audience members will either present a print out, a bar code on their phones or a reference number (plus ID, in that case) to gain access.

LINK:	http://www.rte.ie/about/en/press-office/press-releases/2016/0125/76270...
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