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4626 N Knox Ave • Chicago IL 60630 • 773/282-7035 • Fax 773/282-0380 • Email |
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Irish
Heritage Singers |
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The vision of the Irish Heritage Singers is to preserve, perform and bring to life the cultural heritage of Irish music to the community in Chicago, and wherever the spirit of the Irish is present, and to be cultural and artistic ambassadors of the Irish American Heritage Center.
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| About the Irish Heritage Singers In the late 1970's and early 1980's a group of individuals began to sing Irish songs together, meeting regularly at the Irish American Heritage Center. They were known as the Gaelic Choir. In 1985, the Irish American Heritage Singers Choral Group was formed under the auspices of the Irish American Heritage Center of Chicago. At the time, Mary O'Reilly was the guardian angel of the group, and was instrumental in attaining a grant that was used to hire a director. Between 1985 and 1999 the group grew to a membership of 22 and began, under their new directors, to broaden their repertoire to include pieces involving four-part harmony. In 1996 the group changed its name to the Irish Heritage Singers. Since 2000, the group has grown to around 40 members of all ages, and increased manifold its public performances. The IHS sing traditional Irish and Irish-American music including songs like “Belle of Belfast”, “The Salley Gardens”, “Shenandoah" and several pieces by contemporary Irish choral composers. To date, the Irish Heritage Singers is one of the very few Irish/Irish American Choral ensembles in the United States. We have performed at various venues over the years including: • IAHC’s Irish Fest • Chicago’s Celtic Fest • Mainstage at Milwaukee Irish Fest • Irish Fest at Gaelic Park • Kalamazoo, MI Irish Fest • Long Grove, IL Irish Fest • Arlington Heights, IL Irish Fest • Peoria, IL Irish Feis • Elmhurst, IL Park District’s Music Under the Stars Concert Series • Hoffman Estates, IL Park District’s Summer Concert Series • Numerous Irish radio performances • Cable television performances • Chicago’s Newberry Library • The Chicago Cultural Center • Numerous St. Patrick’s Day festivities, including performing for U.S. Naval personnel at the Chicago Hilton and Towers • Kitty O’Shea’s Chicago • Performing for two Presidents of the Republic of Ireland • We have competed at the Sligo International Choral Festival in Sligo, Ireland We have sung at numerous Masses for weddings and IAHC's Christmas and Palm Sunday Masses for the volunteers. We perform music in English, Latin, and Gaelic. To see where we’ll be performing next, please scroll down to the “Upcoming Performances” section. We currently have around 50 members and we are always looking for people that have an interest in Irish music, are willing to make the weekly commitment of practice [every Thursday night, 7:30-9:30PM in room 309 of the IAHC], and are capable of taking part in a schedule of 15-25 performances a year. You do not need to know how to read music, but you must be able to sing on key. You do not need to know how to speak Gaelic. See the "How to contact us" section below for information on contacting us for an audition to join. Will be added to this schedule shortly
Stop by any Thursday night (rehearsals) at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Avenue, Chicago, Room 309 between 7:30 PM -9:30PM. If you would like to have the Irish Heritage Singers perform at a function, would like more information or would like to purchase one of our CD’s, please contact us via e-mail at: Irishheritagesingers@Irishamhc.com. |
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Hope
you enjoyed the craic. |
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