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 Guinness Choir is a fixture on the modern choral landscape in Ireland and a name that is synonymous with excellence, professionalism and sheer love of music.  Many distinguished Irish and International soloists have sung with the choir over the years, and we are committed to supporting emerging young Irish soloists.

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. This year 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 75^th anniversary with enthusiasm and ambition.