Ireland Day 8 - Off to Limerick

After breakfast, we had to load our two buses again, as we were heading about three hours further south to Limerick today. On the way, however, we made a one-and-a-half hour stop in the town of Galway, which is best known for Ed Sheeran's song 'Galway Girl'. Galway enchanted us with its charming small streets and beautiful restaurants and pubs. Many also found some souvenirs for their loved ones at home.

Just before one o'clock, we continued to Limerick, more precisely to the campus of the University of Limerick. There, each of us moved into apartments in the student accommodations, six people in each. Each person has their own room with a bathroom, and we share a large common room with a kitchen. A real luxury after sleeping in a room with up to 18 people the past nights :)

At half past four, we headed to the concert hall on campus. There, as part of the three-day 'International Choral Festival: Limerick Sings', a Tenebrea workshop took place together with other choirs, followed by a concert by 'Tenebrea' in the evening. The workshop was led by Nigel Short, a former King's Singer who founded and has been directing the professional vocal ensemble 'Tenebrea' since 2001. To warm up and focus, we sang 'My Bonnie is Over the Ocean' together, where we clapped with each M and sat down with each B, and then stood up again with the next B (try it out, it's not that easy :D). Then he explained to us what is particularly important for 'Tenebrea' - the group acts as one whole, they listen to each other's breath and pay attention to the body movements of the others, creating unity. Nigel Short had brought us two pieces that he wanted to rehearse with us, but as not all participants were able to sight-read easily, we only learned about the first page of each piece and tried to implement Nigel Short's tips. He also pointed out to us how important it is to always stand relaxed and not with straightened knees, but to assume an open posture, as otherwise up to 25% of lung capacity would be lost. In any case, we were able to take away some important things from the workshop.

At 7:30 p.m., we were able to get an impression of what Nigel Short had created with 'Tenebrea'. A group of ten singers took the stage and enchanted the concert hall for over an hour. It was amazing to see the group present such demanding literature with precision and clarity - we were absolutely thrilled!

After the opening concert, there was a very delicious barbecue for everyone, with fantastic Irish live music and a female and male dancer who could move their legs so fast that it made you dizzy.
However, since the next day we were supposed to sing 'Sweet child of mine' in an arrangement that we had never sung before with the other choirs, we went to our rooms relatively early, and the individual voice groups had a rehearsal at 11 p.m. Afterwards, everyone fell asleep very tired.