Dublin choir, Arabella Voices, is to come to Donegal for the premiere performance of composer and conductor Damian Gallagher’s new mass as Gaeilge.
Aifreann Naomh Róisín will be performed on Saturday, July 22nd, at 18.30pm at St Mary’s Star of the Sea Church, Annagry. The mass was written by the composer for his late cousin, Róisín Harley.
The choir will also perform the song Cnoc an Diaraigh after the 11am graveyard mass in Annagry on Sunday, July 24th. This song is 100 years old and was written by Damian’s great-uncle John Duffy. He had to emigrate to Scotland at 14 and wrote Cnoc an Diaraigh about his love for his beloved home in Annagry West.
The choir will also perform some songs from their concert repertoire including Danny Boy and maybe one or two Donegal songs.
Damian has always been a regular visitor to the area as his paternal grandparents (John Johnny Williams) hailed from Tully, Dungloe. His mother’s side of the family (Duffy) is from Annagry West. He spent many happy holidays in north-west Donegal and still has a large family circle residing in the area.
Composer Damian Gallagher has strong Donegal connections.
In 2015, Damian conducted a sell-out concert with Arabella Voices in the National Concert Hall in Dublin, where his Irish suite, ALANú, was premièred. This suite was composed about three women from Donegal of special significance in Damian’s life journey – his grandmother Bella Doogan (Bella Neidi Duffy), her sister Bridget O’Donnell and sister-in-law Sarah Doogan.
The suite was very well-received and RTÉ filmed a documentary about Damian’s work on that occasion.
As a highly-sought-after composer and orchestrator, Damian has orchestrated for many well-known orchestras and published two books of his own musical compositions. He was chosen to orchestrate the music for the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park when Pope Francis visited Ireland in 2018.
Damian is musical director of Arabella Voices, which was founded in 2010 as a way of celebrating the joy of music and raising money for local families in need. It is sponsored by Massey Bros. Funeral Directors. Thanks to the excellence of its performances, the choir is in high demand for performances at music festivals, recordings, TV performances and concerts.
The choir was hired by Disney to launch the Irish premiere of The Lion King musical in Dublin. They also performed at the 3Arena in December in front of an audience of 6,000 people.
Despite its professional success, Arabella Voices, retains a charitable ethos at its heart. Its members are very much looking forward to coming to Annagry to perform the premiere of Damian’s mass, Aifreann Naomh Róisín.
