Tickets for the Chamber Choir Ireland on Friday 2nd May at 7:30pm, St Fin Barre's Cathedral, are sold out.

We are delighted by the overwhelming interest again this year! Thank you all, and we look forward to seeing you there.

2025 Gala Concerts Schedule:

Wednesday, 30th April, 8pm: Opening Gala, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius
East Cork Choral Society, Guinness Choir & Cork Fleischmann Symphony Orchestra, Cork City Hall. Tickets: €25/€30/€35 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

Thursday, 1st May, 8pm: Syng Selected (Denmark)
Cork City Hall. Tickets: €25/€30/€35 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

Friday, 2nd May, 10pm: Cappella Pratensis (The Netherlands), Josquin in Rome
St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. Tickets: €25 – Book now

Saturday, 3rd May, 3pm & 8pm: Fleischmann International Gala
Cork City Hall. Tickets: €20/€25/€30 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

Sunday, 4th May, 8pm: Closing Gala Concert
Cork City Hall. Tickets: €25/€30/€35 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

The Cork International Choral Festival has officially launched its 70th anniversary programme, promising a spectacular celebration of choral music this May bank holiday weekend.

Now in its 70th year, Cork’s longest-running festival will welcome over 117 performing groups, including 20 international choirs, who will fill venues across the city with music, colour, and culture. With more than 700 international visitors and thousands more local participants and audiences expected, this year's event is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet.

Speaking, with Irish Examiner, at the launch in Cork City Hall, Artistic Director Peter Stobart shared his excitement about this milestone year:

“We’ve got 20 international choirs visiting – they’ve got to be the highlight. They bring a variety of colourful costumes, different languages, and unique choral styles. All of that being brought into Cork is such a significant thing.”

At the heart of the festival is the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition, which draws world-class amateur choirs from around the globe to compete at the highest level. Events will take place across a variety of iconic venues, including Cork City Hall, St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh, and the Marina Market, with choral pop-ups also expected to bring music to the streets of Cork.

🎟️ The full festival schedule is now available online

The winning composition will premiere at Cork International Choral Festival

Donnchadh Mac Aodha has been announced as this year’s winner of the prestigious Seán Ó Riada composition competition. The annual competition celebrates new works from Irish composers and is held in collaboration with the Cork International Choral Festival and Chamber Choir Ireland. Donnchadh Mac Aodha's winning composition, ‘Babel’, will have its world premiere at St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral Cork on Friday, May 2^nd, at 7.30pm. 

A Dundalk native and UCC student, Donnchadh’s current compositional work draws inspiration from his roots in traditional music and the Irish language, seamlessly blended with his training in contemporary composition, led primarily by John Godfrey at UCC. Through his work, Donnchadh looks to push and remold apparent boundary lines between music genres to create a unique blend of old and new. The inaugural performance of ‘Babel’ will be part of the Cork International Choral Festival’s annual collaborative concert with choir-in-residence, Chamber Choir Ireland, led by their Guest Director Gabriel Crouch. This promises to be a night of exceptional musical talent. 

The Seán Ó Riada competition, which has been running for over 50 years, provides a platform for Irish composers to have their work judged and rewarded solely on its own merits. Submissions are made under pseudonyms, ensuring anonymity until after the judges' decision has been made. The competition aims to present Irish choirs with fresh, authentic material for their programs and has attracted renowned composers throughout its history. 

Chamber Choir Ireland member and composer Eoghan Desmond, conductor Orla Flanagan, and Guest Conductor of Chamber Choir Ireland, Gabriel Crouch, who evaluated McDonnell's winning piece, summarised their reaction, stating, 'Babel' makes a rich contribution to Irish choral literature. The contemporary relevance of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh's Irish-language poem is striking, with an unsettling sense of lofty ideals soured by arrogance and pride. The composer's musical setting reflects this and is both sensitive and expressively impactful. The phrases inflect upwards, yearning for something, but falter in the (quite deliberate) absence of harmonic stability. The effect is sobering, and captivating. It has a distinct musical identity, and shows great fluency in its approach to choral writing.

With more than 250 compositions being submitted in the past 10 years of the new format, the Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition illustrates the number of composers now working and living in Ireland, and further demonstrates the Cork International Choral Festival’s continuing commitment to encourage the composition and performance of contemporary music. Past winners include Solfa Carlisle, Rhona Clarke, Patrick Connolly, Frank Corcoran, Séamas de Barra, Eoghan Desmond, Michael Holohan, Marian Ingoldsby, Donal MacErlaine, Simon MacHale, Kevin O’Connell, Amanda Feery, Criostóir Ó Loingsigh, Donal Sarsfield, James May, Peter Leavy, Norah Constance Walsh, Darragh Black Hynes, Laura Heneghan and last year’s winner Anselm McDonnell

This year’s Cork International Choral Festival which is set to bring Cork to life with song takes place from 30^th April – 4^th May 2025.

More about the Composer: 

Donnchadh Mac Aodha is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Dundalk, Co.Louth. In 2024, he graduated from UCC with a 1^st-class honours degree in Music and Irish, where he was a Quercus Creative & Performing Arts Scholar.

Donnchadh’s current compositional work draws inspiration from his grounding in traditional music and the Irish language, intermingled with his training in contemporary composition, led primarily by John Godfrey at UCC. His pieces have been performed at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, Ostrava Days Festival, West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival, The Irish Composers Collective Festival and the New Ross Piano Festival. In 2024 he was commissioned to write a suite for Consairtín, premiered in Glór, Ennis. Donnchadh’s final-year Major Study composition project, Éist le Fuaim na hAbhann: Echoing Sean-nós in Contemporary Classical Composition, won the Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Undergraduate Award for Exceptional Innovation in Research.

Donnchadh has performed extensively in Ireland, Europe, and beyond. A four-time All-Ireland Champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Donal ‘Doc’ Gleeson Award, UCC Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann bursary, and the Mícheál Ó hÉidhin medal. He was also a finalist in the Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada competition three times, and holds an Advanced Recital Certificate in piano from RIAM.

We're looking for passionate volunteers to join us for the 2025 Cork International Choral Festival on Wednesday 30th April - Sunday 4th May 2025!

If you're interested in being part of the 70th Edition of this amazing event that celebrates choral music and brings people together from around the world, then we want you!

As a token of our thanks, there are some great perks for volunteers, from free tickets to shows, to invitation to the Festival Reception!

We will welcome any volunteers who are willing to lend their hands, hearts and voices.

It's now time to announce the fantastic ten international non-competitive choirs joining us in Cork this May. We can't wait to enjoy their performances! You can find out more about each of them in the 'Choir & Speakers' section of our website.

The Cork International Choral Festival is pleased to invite primary schools to attend the workshop ‘Singing Together - Ag canadh le chéile’ on Tuesday, 4th March 2025 from 10am – 11.45am in Cork City Hall, as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge 2025.

This workshop for primary school children offers a fun and educational opportunity to learn music in the Irish language. Led by Abby Ní Loingsigh and her ensemble, the event will guide schools in mastering a simple choral arrangement of an Irish folk song, fostering a collaborative singing experience. Additionally, students will be introduced to various traditional Irish instruments, will explore different categories of Irish dance tunes and songs, and will practice singing Irish words in harmony with other participants. The event aims to enhance understanding of choral music and cultivate an appreciation for the Irish language and musical tradition.

During the workshop, students will delve into creating a chord with their voices, involving large groups singing three or more different notes. The session will also feature a lively and interactive demonstration of Irish instruments and tune types, incorporating teachable rhythms to identify the tunes. Body percussion will be employed in this section of the event for added engagement.

Registration

The cost for the workshop is €5/student (admission is complimentary for teachers and staff). To book your place, please complete the registration form below by Friday, 7th February, and send payment either online at this link, or by bank transfer or cheque to the following account:

Recipient: Cork International Choral Festival
Bank: Allied Irish Banks plc, Patrick’s Street, Cork, Ireland
IBAN: IE85 AIBK 9341 5105 1954 48
BIC: AIBKIE2D
Account Number: 05195448
Sort Code: 93 41 51
NOTE: Please ensure that the name of the school is noted on bank transfer.

Registrations are considered complete upon receipt of payment and will be guaranteed on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email or phone.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Drumroll, please!

We’re thrilled to announce the choirs selected for the 2025 Fleischmann International Trophy Competition. Each year, top amateur choirs from across the globe compete for the honour of winning the prestigious Fleischmann Trophy.

A huge congratulations to the 10 choirs that will be joining us in Cork next year – we can’t wait to welcome you!

Chamber Choir of the Collegium Musicum Berlin, Germany
Coro Sinfonia, Spain
Junges Consortium Berlin, Germany
Kammerkoret NOVA, Norway
McMaster University Choir - Cantemus Treble Ensemble, Canada
McMaster University Choir - Mixed Chorus, Canada
Mixed Choir "Ventspils", Latvia
Mount Royal Kantorei, Canada
St Mary Treblemakers, Canada
Stockholms Musikgymnasium Youth Choir 2025, Sweden

Tickets for the Fleischmann International Gala Concerts on Saturday 3rd May 2025 are already on sale at this link!

We’re thrilled to announce that tickets for Christmas at the Cathedral on Saturday, 23rd November, are now SOLD OUT!

Don’t miss your chance to experience this magical evening—there are just a few tickets remaining for the Sunday, 24th November performance, featuring the exceptional guest soprano, Majella Cullagh.

🎟️ Secure your tickets now here.

Join us for an unforgettable musical celebration of the festive season in the stunning surroundings of St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, under the direction of Catherine Mahon Buckley.

The time has come! You can now secure your tickets for the individual Gala Concerts of the 2025 Cork International Choral Festival, celebrating our 70th anniversary!

We are excited to offer a special 15% discount for groups booking 10 or more tickets for each show. If you plan to attend all six Gala Concerts, take advantage of our unbeatable value with the Friend of the Festival pass discount! Purchase at least one ticket to activate the Single Pass (€120 instead of €190) or two tickets for the Double Pass (€200 instead of €380) for each evening Gala Concert. For the concerts at Cork City Hall, all tickets should be purchased in either the Balcony or Front Parterre.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at [email protected]. We look forward to welcoming you to the festival next year!

2025 Gala Concerts Schedule:

Wednesday, 30th April, 8pm: Opening Gala, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius
East Cork Choral Society, Guinness Choir & Cork Fleischmann Symphony Orchestra, Cork City Hall. Tickets: €25/€30/€35 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

Thursday, 1st May, 8pm: Syng Selected (Denmark)
Cork City Hall. Tickets: €25/€30/€35 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

Friday, 2nd May, 7.30pm: Chamber Choir Ireland
St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. Tickets: €30 – Book now

Friday, 2nd May, 10pm: Cappella Pratensis (The Netherlands), Josquin in Rome
St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. Tickets: €25 – Book now

Saturday, 3rd May, 3pm & 8pm: Fleischmann International Gala
Cork City Hall. Tickets: €20/€25/€30 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

Sunday, 4th May, 8pm: Closing Gala Concert
Cork City Hall. Tickets: €25/€30/€35 (back parterre/front parterre/gallery) – Book now

We’re thrilled to announce two incredible headline soloists for this year's Christmas at the Cathedral fundraiser!

Join us for a magical evening with tenor Peter Stobart on Saturday 23rd November, and soprano Majella Cullagh on Sunday 24th November at 7.30pm in St Fin Barre's Cathedral.

We’re also excited to welcome back the wonderful talents of Siomha Marron and Andrew Lane, along with our fantastic guest choirs, who will make both nights unforgettable!

Saturday 23rd November featuring:

❄️ Cór Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh Cailíní
❄️ Wilcollane Singers
❄️ White Horse Gospel Choir
❄️ UCC Singers
❄️ Cór Geal Choir
❄️ CADA Performing Arts

Sunday 24th November featuring:

❄️ Belcanto Choir
❄️ Calliope
❄️ Douglas Harmonia Singers
❄️ Voices of Cork Community Choir
❄️ CADA Performing Arts

Tickets are selling fast—secure yours now before they're gone!