Church of St John the Evangelist
Sandymount
Handel’s Messiah will be performed in St John's, after Easter
on
Friday 4th April at 8.00pm.
The Choir giving of their time
"The Occasional Singers"
will be conducted by
Robin Moore.
Soloists are:
Rachel Talbot - Soprano,
Miriam Blennerhasset - Contralto,
Anthony Norton - Tenor,
Gerry Noonan - Bass;
and the accompanying Organist: - Celine Kelly.
Please do your best to support this event. Tickets €15.00 available on Sundays in church @12.30pm or phone 01 492 3151.
Some Biographical Details
Rachel Talbot
Rachel Talbot holds an Honours Degree in Music from Trinity College Dublin. She was a member of Christ Church Cathedral Choir for 6 years and a member of the National Chamber Choir for 3 years. She has sung with Opera Ireland chorus and was a member of the Opera Theatre Company opera studio in 2000. She has participated in masterclasses with Emma Kirkby, Ian Partridge, Jill Feldman, Bernadette Greevy, Rudolph Piernay, David Harper and Britta Sundberg. She has sung with a number of early music ensembles, including the Consort of St Sepulchre, Dublin Viols, the Douglas Gunn Ensemble, Res Nova, Resurgam and Seanma (with whom she has released two CDs). In 2006 she recorded the CD Flow my Tears with the DIT Early Music Ensemble to mark the 400th anniversary of the Flight of the Earls leading to performances in Louvain commemerating the founding of the Irish College there. As soprano soloist she has performed the Messiah with the Dublin Symphony Orchestra, the St John Passion and Bach cantatas with the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the St Matthew and St John Passions and Bach cantatas with the Orchestra of St Cecilia. She has given recitals at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Hugh Lane Gallery, John Field Room and Trinity College Dublin. She has also done session recordings for film and theatre with Bill Whelan, Secret Garden, the Abbey Theatre and Channel 4.
ANTHONY NORTON
Anthony Norton studied voice, piano, ‘cello and conducting at Trinity College of Music London before embarking on a career as a singer. He began his career with Scottish Opera before moving to Teatro La Scala Di Milano, where he was resident for a number of years. In Ireland, Anthony has appeared with all the major companies and ensembles including Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Alexander Annisimov. He has appeared with Opera Ireland, Wexford Festival Opera, Co-Opera and Opera Theatre Company. As one of The Three Irish Tenors, Anthony has toured throughout the world, giving numerous concerts in the USA, Canada, UK, France, Portugal, Monaco and as far afield as The Bahamas, Mexico, India and Taiwan. Anthony has become recognized as one of Ireland’s leading voice teachers and enjoys a busy career teaching voice and performance skills to singers, presenters, teachers and actors. . As well as teaching at his private practice in Dublin and Manchester, he is also a member of the faculty of voice at The Arden School of Theatre and is a visiting lecturer at The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. As a Stage Director, he has collaborated with many renowned companies and is currently Artistic Director of Dublin City Council’s “Opera In The Open”.
Gerry Noonan
Gerry Noonan studied singing with Peter McBrien, at the Dublin College of Music and then, for many years, with Frank O’Brien. In 2003 he took a career break from teaching and obtained a Diploma in Music (Teaching and Performing), at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, studying with Philip O’Reilly. He has worked extensively with Dr. Bernadette Greevy and currently works with Evelyn Dowling. Gerry has performed a wide range of roles in Opera, Operetta and Musicals. In April 2005 he sang the role of Achior in the first staged performance of John Gibson’s chamber opera, Judith and Holofernes, in St. Finbarre’s Cathedral, Cork. Oratorio work includes Messiah and the Fauré Requiem. He sings regularly with The Drawing Room Opera Company, and features on the CD, An Evening with The Drawing Room Opera Company. His own CD, The Cloths of Heaven, was released in July 2005.
ROBIN MOORE
Robin Moore conducted operetta (and anything else he could) at Edinburgh University while studying economics and commerce. Subsequently as a member of the London Symphony Chorus and later the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, he has sung under conductors such as Abbado, Barenboim, Bernstein, Boulez, Britten, Colin Davis, Giulini, Kertesz, Muti, Previn, Rostropovich, Stokowski and Tilson Thomas.
He was chorus master of Our Lady’s Choral Society for eighteen years and currently sings with both OLCS and the RTE Philharmonic Choir. He has conducted the Occasional Singers since their formation in 2000.
CELINE KELLY
Celine Kelly studied piano with Frank Heneghan at the Dublin College of Music. Following numerous competition successes, and having graduated from TCD with an honours degree she spent two years at the Royal College of Music, obtaining a performers diploma.
To date, Celine has accompanied many solo artists and choirs in performances in Moscow, France, Italy, USA,,China and throughout Ireland. She is currently on
the teaching staff of DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama.
The Occasional Singers
The Occasional Singers were formed in 2000 at the instigation of Robin Moore initially to perform a programme of Christmas Music and readings. For some years this performance for various charities was given in St Anne's Church in Dawson Street and in St Stephen's. Latterly th Occasional Singers have presented their Christmas Programme in the Chester Beatty Library. These events were all given in aid of various Charities.
Many of the members of the Occasional Singers were and are also members
of one or other of the large Dublin choral societies and having successfuly launched the Choir it was felt that as most members were very familliar with Handel's Messaih it would be practicable to add this to our repetoire.
We have performed the Oratorio in various places including the Presbyterian Church in York Road, in Harold's Cross' in Drogheda, Kildangan and in the Chapel of the Mater Hospital to name only some. It will be apparent that this is an accomplished and welcome addition to the Dublin Musical scene.