From Chamber Choir Ireland’s CEO:
Unfortunately, we have some sad news of cancellations – some of which have only unfolded in the last 24 hours. None of us has been shielded from the news these last few weeks of the extraordinary times in which we find ourselves with the Covid-19 pandemic. And at a time when we all need uplifting more than ever, we, and our other performing arts colleagues throughout Ireland and indeed the world, find ourselves unable to bring to you the usual live performances you know and love us for.
We are taking decisions on a daily and weekly basis with regard to upcoming events, but central to that is the health and well-being of our artists, staff, and you, our audience. We are immeasurably grateful to the Arts Council /an Chomhairle Ealaíon for its early and clear communication that they will continue to support our organisations and artists through this difficult time. Our small team has vacated our National Concert Hall offices since 12 March, electing to work from home, and there our work continues to support our singers and Artistic Director, continue planning for the future, and coming up with new ways for you to stay in touch with CCI’s choral music provision in Ireland and beyond.
As we are all trying to figure out what to do next and how to do it in terms of refunds/rescheduling, please bear with us and our collaborating partners while we talk to each other and our funders and get this information to you as soon as we can. f
For now, it is with heavy hearts that, following the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar’s, announcement yesterday, our performance on 10 April 2020 of St John Passion with RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra under David Hill is cancelled. Anyone who has booked tickets for this performance can check on the RTÉ NSO website for details of what to do next.
Further, our programme Like as the Waves with Artistic Director, Paul Hillier, scheduled for Dublin on 30 April and Cork (as part of the Cork International Choral Festival) on 1 May is also cancelled as we can see no feasible way to safely bring this to you our audiences while maintaining the utmost safe working conditions for our artists. Anyone who has booked tickets for the Dublin performance through Eventbrite will be contacted directly by CCI with more information. Anyone who has booked tickets for the Cork performance can check on the Cork International Choral Festival website for details of what to do next. We will keep these wonderful treasures in our back pocket – not least the wonderful new commission Longwave by Amanda Feery due to be premiered at the Cork International Choral Festival – and hope to reschedule or reprogramme them at some point in the future.
There’ll be some broadcasts, some online content including lectures and previously recorded concerts. Full details will be posted on social media in due course.
But in the meantime, stay in touch with us, listen in to us – and let us know you’re listening! Most importantly, all of us at CCI wish that you all stay safe, healthy and happy and hope that our small online choral offerings may provide some uplift in these most challenging times.