Tredagh Singers

In spite of the weather, which was wintry eventhough we had a weatherman on our side, the crowds, 400 strong, turned out to hear the music of the Tredagh Singers and friends on Friday night the 18th of May 2012 at St. Peter's on the Hill in Drogheda. This was the second performance of the Vivaldi Gloria by the choir in the same venue. The evening, though bitterly cold outside , warmed the hearts of performers and audients alike. Opening the evening the choir sang three songs, Come Again, She Moved through the Fair and Gaudeamus Igitur. The audience were then entertained by Alan Leech, Bernie Brereton, Niamh Browne, The Connaghan Family, Catherine Dillon and the Drogheda Brass Band Ensemble. People commented afterwards on the variety and excellence of each performance. The concert finished with a rousing performance of Vivaldi's Gloria. As always on these occasions the choir was accompanied by the Tredagh String Ensemble, with Catherine Dillon on piano, all of whom played beautifully. Joining the choir also were Niamh Browne and Fiona Mullaney for Soprano solos and duets and by Bernie Brereton for the oratorio's alto solos. Alan Leech also graciously joined the tenor line for the evening. Thank you Alan! We then repaired to the church's community rooms across the courtyard to hear from our critics. They were all well pleased I'm glad to say. Many thanks to the Soroptomists of Drogheda who promoted the evening and who probably brought many people to the concert who had never heard the choir sing before. As always we thank and congratulate our musical director, Geraldine Doggett, for her hard work and persistance in search of the best possible sound and blend at all times.

The Augustinians in Drogheda must be doing something right. The congregation were standing in the aisles and at the doors in Shop St. for the 1.15p.m. mass on Sunday 19th. I would like to think the crowds came because they heard the Tredagh Singers would be singing at that mass but that is to flatter to deceive. Nonetheless the gentlemen and the ladies of the eponymous choir sang with gusto and committment for , we hope , the enrichment and prayerful intentions of all who gathered before us today. As always we were ably assisted by the players of the Tredagh String Ensemble, by Niamh Browne, soprano, and by Catherine Dillon on piano. This is a mass that we now know very well and one could hear the confidence in the delivery.
It is important that, at this stage, I would acknowledge one Fergus Connaughton, who came all the way from Edenderry to help us out today. A dangerous journey! It is said that everyone carries a hurley in those parts. His beautiful rich bass voice was an asset to be sure.
Spirits were high as we left the church in the sunshine. Well done to Geraldine who has guided us unerringly through this beautiful music from page to performance.

This is to certify that the Tredagh Singers inc. have completed the marathon in good health and spirits. This December has been just that.... a marathon. The starter's gun was fired on Saturday Dec. 3rd in the beautiful Beaulieu House where we sang in the hall for the annual Church of Ireland sale of Christmas fare. Through the woods then, and skirting some muddy ground, and we arrived in Slane Church on Sunday the 11th for Carols at night time. We were joined by the local school choir and the church choir. This was a night of lovely singing and for us a renewal of our partnership with the Tredagh string ensemble and Catherine Dillon, keyboard, for two choruses from the Messiah. The church was packed and we received a warm welcome from Father Joe and this team. The Tredagh men proved themselves to be men of iron that night by moving the solid oak altar table without shedding a drop of perspiration! After a quick visit to the water station and with encouraging noises from our fans we passed the half way stage.
Our annual concert of carols in Drogheda was held in the Augustinian church Shop St. The proceeds of this concert will go to St. Ita's special school where we practice every week. We were joined on the night by Niamh Browne, soprano, the choir and musicians of Scoil Aonghusa and the Tredagh String ensemble. This concert was packed to the doors and the principal of St. Ita's school, Micheál O Moley thanked all present for their kind support. We were in the final stages of the race now and in danger of hitting the wall ....but we didn't. On Sunday the 18th we sang carols in Bru na Boinne for the winter solstice. And finally, with the finishing line just coming into view, RTE no less, asked us to" sing in" the Christmas message with Archbishops Brady and Harper on Wednesday 21st on West St. The message will be broadcast on RTE on Christmas Day 12.25p.m. Marathon complete and personal goals achieved we retired for the holiday but.......... we will be back!!

"May we live in interesting times". This ancient proverb comes to mind when I reflect on our recent musical tour of the beautiful and eternal city of Roma. We certainly had interesting times during the 4 days and nights of the 14th-18th of October 2011. Pasta, pizza, bonhomie, vocal strains ( of all kinds) and fantastic Frascati were in plentiful supply. It is true to say that we sung and we supped! We gained historical knowledge through the good and enthusiastic work of Jimmy and Alex. Vincent and Sonny, in concert, brought us to Castelgandolpho, Frascati and finally to beautiful Genazzano. Highlights will certainly include singing the vigil mass in the ancient monastery of the Augustinian order in Genazzano where we sang behind the altar in the beautiful choir stalls. We will also remember, forever probably, singing in St Peter's Basilica on Monday 17th. What a pleasure it was also to meet with Mattijs Vilverberg who accompanied us on the organ. When not playing he joined the tenors. Is there no end to the man's talent? He even sang Bí a Iosa..... no mean feat for a Dutch man ( who also speaks English and Italian). The welcoming Ristorante Donati provided us with our final repaste which we enjoyed with gusto.... and song. Grazie mille Roma

We were called back to action earlier than ever this year with a rehearsal on Monday the 22nd of August. One could write a book about that rehearsal alone. We had arranged to practice in the Augustinian Church. The devil intervened however and at 5p.m a slightly perturbed Fr. Iggy rang the secretary, the Musical Director being incommunicando as usual, to say that the church was being cleaned that very night " by a crowd from the North". Everyone knows that you can't argue with " a crowd from the North". " There is plenty of room for ye across the road in the Stables however" Iggy assured " and Carmel is only too willing to accomodate ye" The secretary rang Carmel, who it must be said is very kind. " I think Iggy thinks we have more room than we actually have" opined Carmel to an increasingly nervous secretary.
By 8pm we assembled in the dimly lit but atmospheric courtyard of the stables. Some feared the cold and others the midges. Carmel rebuked the cold with shawls and rugs. God is good and so is she.
We practiced again in the Augustinian on Thursday. Most of us will want to forget both rehearsals forever. Some truly horrible sins against singing were committed. Few still believed..... we could or would " Come again"
But come again we did to the dappled shade of the arbour on the lawn of Beaulieu House on Friday 26th. And there for a magical hour we found our rhythm and our mojo returned. We sang quietly and then more quietly until Geraldine sighed .... with contentment, we were maintaining tuning effortlessly. " Sing quietly" we encouraged one another And so it came to pass, in the entrance hall, to 90 or so intent audients. Their rapt attention told us all we needed to know. A good start to our singing ... please god it may continue

It's back to the tuning fork I guess after our trip to the Cork Choral festival on Saturday and Sunday last the 29th and 30th of April. We had a wonderful stay though in Mediterranean style weather on de banks. Our competition started early on Sunday morning in the City Hall which was just across the river from the Clarion where we were staying. Unfortunately though, not even a chance meeting with the festival director, John Fitzpatrick, as we practiced al fresco on the banks of the Lee, could bring us close to our coveted prize. Our performance in City Hall was very well received notwithstanding and we finished with a respectable score. Our performance in St. Finn Barre's was very worthwhile if daunting. They say what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Well we're still alive and awaiting the next challenge......... and the adjudicator's critique of course.

As always we are very grateful to Create Louth for all their support with our various endeavours

It was cold and bright on the evening of Saturday the 26th of February. The tuneful and hardy souls of the Tredagh Singers assembled in the Church in Slane. We arrived at 5 p.m. to warm up and tune up after not so long it was thumbs up. We were not alone of course. We were joined as we always are when we perform the Haydn mass by the Tredagh ensemble and Niamh Browne whose interpretation of the Benedictus of this mass is delight to hear. Fr. Joe gave us a very warm welcome and we in turn gave him and the congregation, some of whom shared the gallery with us, a rousing and committed performance. For proof of this take a quick look at the photos over. There is committment etched on every face. Our good friend Oisín took the photographic record on the night and we thank him and hope he can be with us again very soon.

As always we are very grateful to the Louth Arts office for their continued support

This is the picture of the 21 hardy ( foolhardy?) singers who braved the elements to sing in Brú na Bóinne on Sunday the 19th of December. It was an informal occasion with few enough visitors but those who were there thoroughly enjoyed the singing. This was the culmination of our Christmas Season as we had already sung our own Christmas Concert in the Augustinian Church on Friday the 17th . On the day before ,the 18th we had negotiated St Peter's slippery hill to sing for the annual Christmas Cake Sale in St. Peter's Hall.

It was with a sense of eager anticipation tempered with the usual nerves before a performance that we assembled in the "penthouse" of the Lourdes Bandroom on Sunday last the 3rd of October. We were accompanied by the Tredagh ensemble of gallant string players. We also had the services of Fergus Conaghan on the oboe, all the way from Edenderry, and Mark Newman of the Lourdes Brass Band playing the trumpet. Geraldine finetuned our singing and told us to listen to each other and to enjoy. We were determined to do that. We took the short walk to the Augustinian hoping against vain hope that Fr. Iggy would not forget what we were singing or more importantly at what point of the mass we would perform.
It was a truly committed performance by the 30 or so singers and the players mentioned above. We were also joined by our former M.D. Patricia Hegarty who accompanied us on organ. The congregation stood and applauded in recognition of the effort at the end of mass.
The high point, as always, was the most evocative rendition of the Benedictus by Niamh Browne (soprano). As John Clarke might say " It surely was a thing of beauty".

Incidentally if you look closely at the third photo you will see our most famous singer standing on John Eagleton's left.

Return to St. Ita’s 06-09-’10
Like we were never away we reassembled in St. Ita’s hall on Monday last full of enthusiasm for another musical year.
George Bernard Shaw said that
"Hell is full of musical amateurs" and it may well be but some of us prefer St. Ita’s on Mondays ……. It is less hot….. Just.
It seems that Thomas Fuller also had his own thoughts about music: "Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune"
We certainly have the wild sounds right…now for the civilizing…

Welcome to the Tredagh Singers website! Back on Line !!!

The Tredagh Singers

The town of Drogheda has a great reputation for live musical performance by individuals and groups over the years.
This applies to instrumentation with the brass bands, to pantomime and shows, to individual singers, to the show bands and of course to the massed voices of the Drogheda choirs well known throughout the land.
The Tredagh Singers, formerly St. Peter's Choral Group, was formed in 1970 and has over the years won in excess of 40 major first place awards at many competitions both at home and abroad.
Most recent awards include the Aims festival in New Ross and the Cork International Choral Festival. The group has been most widely praised by adjudicators for its "splendid balance and chording, impeccable unanimity, security and absolute musicianship".
The choir at present numbers approximately 60 members and enjoys singing a broadly based repertoire ranging from mediaeval polyphony to the modern composers Britten and Kodaly. They have performed works by our own local composer, , most recently, a piece written for the choir, entitled "Winter in Meath".
The choir won the "Contemporary Irish Music Society" trophy at the Cork International Choral festival for their performance of this piece. The choir is indebted to a range of talented musicians for their assistance over the years.
The choir meets for Practice every monday night at 8pm sharp in St. Ita's School, Drogheda and new members are always welcome!