Galway Baroque Singers
Audrey Corbett (director)

Since their first performance of Handel's Messiah in December 1983, the Galway Baroque Singers have established themselves as one of Ireland's most accomplished amateur choirs. Formed by Audrey Corbett, the choir has sung many of the major choral works. It is a mark of their consistent excellence, that for the past 13 years the choir has had the honour of being invited to sing with the RTE Concert Orchestra under the directorship of conductor Proinnsias Ó Duinn. Although singing with orchestral accompaniment is the most lavish event of their musical year, GBS has always sung music for unaccompanied voices or voices with keyboard accompaniment. In this capacity, they sing regularly in Galway, captivating audiences with imaginative and unusual performances, presenting choral singing remarkable for its beauty of sound and sensitivity of phrasing. The choir has competed at many festivals throughout Ireland winning major awards at Sligo, Limerick and Navan. At the Cork International Choral festival they received the premier national award three times and were placed third in the International section of that festival in 1998. They were also nominated as Choir of the Year in Navan that same year and went on to take part in the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales in 1999. Galway Baroque Singers had the honour of singing at the honorary conferring ceremony of Nelson Mandela at NUI Galway in June 2003. Lighter works are also performed from time to time; the choir participated in a concert entitled Broadway to Ireland in Leisureland in 2004, where songs from musicals were performed. In May 2005 the choir performed Bach’s Magnificat and Rutter’s Requiem with the RTE Concert Orchestra and on June 1st and 2nd 2006, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burina and Mozart Vespers de Dominica.