Making tracks for the Friends of Naas Hospital

Battling snow and wind in January 2015, the choir gathered in the school hall of Scoil Bhríde, Sallins Road where, just a few weeks earlier they had hosted a wonderful concert, helping the school to raise over €1,500 to purchase musical instruments.  This time, the choir had an even more ambitious agenda — to record a professional standard CD with the aim of raising thousands of euro for one of Kildare’s most important charities: the Friends of Naas Hospital.

For all of the choir members, it was a truly novel and unique experience.  Ranked in rows, silent and tense, woe betide the person who coughed after the sound engineer had given the countdown, or shuffled their feet, after hours perched on a bench.  The choir will never listen to a CD in quite the same way again.  With the help of Scoil Bhríde’s young singers and collaborating with emerging Irish artists — mezzo-soprano Gemma Ní Bhriain, oboeist Conor Cavanagh and Jane Hackett — the choir achieved its goal in a mammoth recording session of twelve hours spread over three days.  It was a wonderful experience for all involved.

Although the choir has become accustomed to a challenging workload, the members have never worked harder than during that January weekend.  The thirteen tracks on our CD “Rejoice and be Merry” range from the funky Follow that Star, to classics such as O Holy Night, and a piece Everywhere, Christmas Tonight specially arranged for the choir of Scoil Bhride by the composer Natasha Senanayake. 

The CD will be launched in November 2015.  The choir is delighted to support the Friends of Naas Hospital, and hopes their audience will enjoy listening to it as much as the choir enjoyed making it!