Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan
PLANS are at an advanced stage for the establishment of a new adult choir with a highly accomplished and classically trained soprano at the helm.
Dr Sharon Lyons, who has a master’s degree in Early Music and Chant and a PhD from the Irish World Academy in the University of Limerick, is setting up the Kerry Concert Choir and the first 10-week term commences on Monday, February 7, from 7.00pm to 9.00pm, at Killarney Racecourse, Ross Road. No previous experience is necessary.
Sharon’s professional engagements include soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem and Bach’s St John’s Passion, most notably in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, Dublin. She previously set up Pro Nuova, a contemporary liturgical music group.
Sharon, originally from Howth, Co Dublin but now living between Killarney and Killorglin, has received many scholarships and awards over the years including a Fulbright Scholarship to study music in the US, which led to performing at a UN conference.
Performances also include appearances at the National Concert Hall on national television, on many RTÉ religious affairs programmes and, famously, she sang the haunting Sacrifice, a blend of improvised Celtic and Latin sounds, in the gripping TV series Vikings.
She also sang for Pope Francis, for state events such as the annual 1916 Remembrance Service and at the funeral of former President Patrick Hillery.
Sharon is gifted with an impressive range of repertoire spanning from medieval chant to the modern day.
For more information about Kerry Concert Choir email [email protected] or call or text 087-6077344.
