30.09.2008
Ecumenical Gospel Choir has New Director
It was announced during the last month that Siobhan Kennedy will be the new Musical Director of the Enniskerry Gospel Choir, a joint venture between the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic parishes in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Siobhán Kennedy-Perri BMus (Hons) is a graduate of the National University of Ireland, NUI Maynooth. As a freelance singer and musician she has performed in various styles of music from classical to pop throughout Ireland, the UK and Australia.
She is currently teaching singing and music in Rathdown school and music centre, Glenageary, where she also conducts the Rathdown Cantori, a ladies chamber choir and the Junior Cantori, a mixed children’s choir comprising children from the school and surrounding area.
Her professional association with choral music began in 1998 as choral assistant and stage manager with RTE’s Cor na nÓg and Philharmonic choir. She has studied conducting through the Kodály Society of Ireland (KSI) and Cumann Náisúnta na gCór (CNC).
Special areas of musical interest include World Music (her final dissertation on Bollywood Music as part of her BMus degree earned her a presentation from the Bollywood film industry) and Sacred Music (she is a member of Schola Gregoriana Maynooth, a joint venture between NUI Maynooth and St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, who’s first CD is due to be released in October 2008).
A spokesperson for the choir said, "We are all very pleased to welcome Siobhan to Enniskerry Gospel Choir. It's great to find someone living in our area to lead us forward. We had the good fortune to build the choir from a solid foundation over the last 5 years and we are looking forward very much to the future with Siobhan."
Siobhan succeeds Dr Neville Cox who directed the choir for many years.
The Enniskerry Gospel Choir leads the singing at services in both St Patrick's Church of Ireland Church (at 11:30am on the first Sunday of the month) and St Mary's Roman Catholic Church (at 11am on the third Sunday of the month) throughout the year except in January and from July to September.
