The Guinness Choir

The Guinness Choir was established in 1951 by Victor Leeson, who was a young
member on the management staff of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. The members
of the Choir were also Guinness employees. The Choir gave its first performance in
May 1951 and has been at the forefront of choral music in Ireland for nearly 75
years. Victor Leeson conducted the Choir until 1984 with early performances of the great
oratorios of Bach and Handel, many of which were performed in Dublin for the first
time. As well as Bach, Handel, Mozart and Haydn, the Choir’s repertoire
encompasses many of the choral works of all the major composers from the 17th to
20th centuries.

David Milne followed John Dexter’s time as Musical Director, from 1991 to 2022, a
span of over thirty years. Highlights under David’s direction include Verdi’s Requiem
at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, with the Belfast Philharmonic Choir and the Ulster
Orchestra, the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in the new Wexford Opera
House in 2009 and a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in the Grand Canal Theatre in
2011 with the University of Dublin Choral Society.

The choir appointed Ciarán Kelly as its new Music Director on David’s retirement in
2022. Under Ciarán’s musical guidance the choir has performed several Irish
premieres of contemporary composers, including Ola Gjeilo’s Dreamweaver and
Jake Runestad’s Cello Songs as well and an ambitious double bill of Mozart’s
Requiem and C Minor Mass in April 2023. The choir’s performance in December
2024 of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio was particularly well received.

The Guinness Choir is proud of its association, over many years, with the Cork
international Choral Festival. Known as the St James’s Gate Musical Society
(SJGMS) until 1964, the choir won 1st prize in the International Competition A
(Mixed Voice Choirs) at the Cork International Choral Festival in 1960, 1961 and 1963. They were the first choir to win two years in a row and the only choir to win
that competition three times. The SJGMS also won the International Female Voice
competition in 1963. In 1964 they finished second in the International Competition A,
and won both the International Female and Male Voice competitions. The choir
competed again in the International Competition A in 1966. They also contributed to
the Festival non-competitively in 1965, 1966, 1981 and 2003.

In 2001, as part of our 50th Anniversary celebrations, we proudly introduced the inaugural Victor Leeson Perpetual Trophy to the Choir of the Year at the Cork Choral Festival.

This award is presented each year to the outstanding Irish choir at the festival. In 2016 we welcomed the sponsorship of DPS Engineering at a challenging time for the choir when the brewery withdrew funding. In 2024 we were delighted to announce Spry Finance as our lead Sponsor. In conjunction with our loyal Patrons and Friends of the choir and the honorary patronage of the Rt. Hon. Earl of Iveagh, Edward Guinness, the Guinness Choir looks forward to our 75th anniversary with enthusiasm and ambition.