Waterford is on song with music event

WATERFORD is good at choral collaborations.

For instance, a performance by massed choirs of work by local composers and poets memorably launched the Tall Ships Festival here in 2011. One of the most anticipated events of Waterford New Music Week 2015 is a new choral piece by historian Anne Farrell based on an account of an encounter of local wine merchants with Cork pirates. The event, co-ordinated by Julie Quinlan, of WIT Music School, involves 400 children from local schools and community choirs who will perform new song settings by five local composers.

Farrell, author of Waterford Folk Tales, says the songs are based on real historic events. The performance of ‘By Hook or By Crook’ will be streamed live on www.wit.ie. “It is possible the audience for this event could come from all over the world via the internet, which is a very exciting first for the festival,” says Farrell.