LGBTQI+ Choral Commission for the Irish Youth Choirs: Call for Submissions
Sing Ireland, the national body for the support, development and promotion of all forms of group singing, is committed to providing an environment that is inclusive and supportive of all. Through its work with the Irish Youth Choirs, Sing Ireland has worked with a large number of singers in Ireland who represent the LGBTQI+ community. In 2023, Sing Ireland was awarded funding from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for a project entitled ‘Unity Voices’. This initiative seeks to commission a composer from the LGBTQI+ community to write a new choral work for the Irish Youth Choirs (the Irish Youth Choir and the Irish Youth Training Choir). The composition will be performed in July 2024 in the Irish Youth Choir’s Summer concerts and will celebrate inclusion, diversity and belonging in choral music in Ireland.
THE COMMISSION
The commission is open to an Irish Composer from the LGBTQI+ community, with experience writing for choirs.
The resulting work will be premiered by the Irish Youth Choirs in July 2024 and should consider the singers, aged between 14 and 28 years old, within the process.
Contact and consultation with Sing Ireland, the Artistic Director of the IYCs and the Conductor of the IYTC will be an important element of the commission.
The work must reflect the ideas put forward by the IYCs singers. The chosen composer will be expected to attend two zoom calls in late February 2024 to meet and discuss the project with the singers from both choirs.
A central objective of this commission is to reflect the sense of belonging, equality and inclusion that exists within the IYCs and the choral sector for young people in Ireland.
It is envisaged that the work will be between 3 - 5 minutes duration and suitable for the IYCs. It may be a cappella or include piano accompaniment.
