The enormously popular “Carols by Candlelight” Concert in Carrigaline is to return this year on 22nd December At 9pm from the Church of Our Lady and St. John Carrigaline.
Organisers of the concert, appropriately named “Imagination”, have been working on a variety of programme formats over the last number of months to cover several concert alternatives depending on current public health restrictions.
Organisers have announced that the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra, Leader Alan Smale, Musical Director and Conductor Brian Murphy, Linda Kenny, Killian Donnelly and members of the Carrigaline Musical Society, will stage a no-audience, socially distant, 2 hour extravaganza streamed from the venue live to homes across Cork City and beyond.
The City of Cork Symphony, led by former leader of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Alan Smale, has staged very large scale productions and events over the last number of years In Cork City Hall and Independent Park with Il Divo, Katherine Jenkins, Jose Carreras, Nigel Kennedy, Nicola Benedetti, Julian Lloyd Weber and Linda Kenny but even for them, this is a very significant undertaking.
Conductor Brian Murphy explains that “This year, more than any year, it is important on so many levels that we hold this event. Our audience, home and abroad, are seeking ways to connect for this Christmas. The Carols by Candlelight 2020 from Carrigaline we hope will provide that connection, will bring, albeit virtually, this Christmas to each and every doorstep. We are so fortunate to have artistes of the calibre of Irelands leading songstress Linda Kenny and Phantom of the Opera and Jean Valjean from Les Miserables, our own Killian Donnelly and of course the Carrigaline Musical Society, who represent the very many amateur groups who have essentially been ‘shut down’ by the pandemic.
We are deeply indebted to the enormous support of our sponsors in the business community who have given their time, financial resources and expertise to make this event possible. We are hoping that this will be an event for families and loved ones, who will, as they have done over the last number of years, come to the Concert, from the comfort of their living room”.
Preparations are enormous for such an undertaking, to ensure that all Health and Safety protocols, testing, social distancing and screens are in place for the 2-hour concert performance. All proceeds donated online at the event will be for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Lions Club Carrigaline Youth Centre Project.
The concert facebook page is Carrigaline Carols by Candlelight 2020, where “audience” members can find the YouTube link for the concert.