Ireland Day 7 - Ode to joy

After a delicious breakfast with typical Irish 'scones', a sweet pastry with raisins, we gathered for a one-hour rehearsal at Trinity Church in Westport. Some pieces were given the final touches and the program for the evening was determined. Afterwards, we had about three hours to ourselves to explore the town of Westport, try out tasty restaurants, visit the coast, and explore various candy and gift shops. Westport is a town in western Ireland, located on the Clew Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. The town of Westport was originally planned to serve as a residence for employees of 'Westport House' mansion, which is quite unusual for Ireland.
At around half past four, we set off for Newport, which is about 20 km away. The small town is home to 636 people and has become a refuge for another hundred people who had to leave their homes due to Putin's attack on Ukraine. And it was for these people that the concert was intended on this evening at St. Patrick's Church, under the title 'Ode to joy'. In addition to us, three other choirs also performed: the Newport NS Gospel Choir, the Westport Youth Choir, and the Westport Children's Choir. The proceeds from the evening will go to aid organizations in Ukraine.
After our soundcheck, the Westport Youth Choir and the Westport Children's Choir joined us, and we rehearsed together the concluding pieces of the evening, 'Freude schöner Götterfunken' and 'We are the World'.
Before the concert was to begin at 7:00 p.m., we naturally wanted to take the obligatory 'Grubbafoddo' in concert attire in front of the church. This proved to be more difficult than usual, as hurricane-like gusts of wind sent all the sheet music and jackets flying to unexpected heights, and we had to try to catch them first. After overcoming this hurdle and taking a windy picture, the concert began with the Newport NS Gospel Choir, consisting of about 70 children. With their clear and lovely voices, they performed three pieces with a lot of choreography and fun. The three soloists of the choir, who bravely sang into the microphone in front of the packed church, were particularly impressive. The message of the songs also touched the audience deeply - when 70 clear children's voices sing 'Together we are strong, we are one as we share our lives together' no one can escape goosebumps.
The emotion continued as Anastasia, who fled from Ukraine with her grandmother, played Beethoven's Sonata No. 9 on the piano for the audience, followed by Vitaly, a Ukrainian, who entered the stage to play and sing a Ukrainian folk song on the guitar.
The award-winning Westport Children's Choir then performed three pieces, having already collaborated with the Vienna Boys' Choir in previous years. The Westport Youth Choir then took the stage. It consisted primarily of three young women, as the men of the choir were unable to participate due to exams. Therefore, four of our men had to help out with one piece. So Fabian, Sam, Lukas, and Niklas had received the sheet music for 'In this heart' the previous evening and rehearsed together with the women in the morning. The seven of them impressed with beautiful singing, and the following piece, which the three women sang alone, enchanted the audience.
After a ten-minute break, we took the stage and performed our program for about half an hour. The audience was particularly impressed by 'Immortal Bach' and 'Genuit puerpuera', where we stood in a large circle around the audience and the music could be heard from all directions, as well as our final song, 'Nearer my God'.
To conclude the concert, we sang 'Freude schöner Götterfunken' and 'We are the World', with all the participating choirs joining us at the front of the stage. The audience also fully participated in the last piece, and it was a very beautiful, expressive conclusion of the evening at St. Patrick's Church.
In the nearby 'Newport Hotel', we enjoyed a delicious dinner, and afterwards, we sang 'The auld triangle' in the hotel lobby, with enthusiastic support from hotel guests :)
We returned to our accommodations in Westport around 11:15 PM, exhausted, and fell into our beds.