Fundraising campaign for St. Mary’s Choral Society gets off to a strong start

St. Mary’s Choral Society returned to the music of The Clockmaker’s Daughter on October 4th with a special concert at the Talbot Hotel in Clonmel.

The concert sold out on the night, with 300 people attending to hear the music from the society’s hugely successful production, which enjoyed a six night sell out run at the White Memorial Theatre last April.

The concert was directed by the society’s Jason Ryan, with Niall Kelly as Musical Director and Laura Cotter as Chorus Mistress. The original cast returned to reprise their roles, joined by the 40 member ensemble, who also performed in last April’s production.

The company was accompanied by a ten piece orchestra led by Musical Director Niall Kelly, adding a full orchestral sound to the concert performance.

Rehearsals began in early September, giving the cast and ensemble a relatively short period in which to refresh their knowledge of the score, while some members had to relearn parts of the music. Their hard work was evident on the night, with the concert capturing much of the energy and atmosphere of the original production.

One of the highlights came with Raise a Glass, which brought the entire company together on stage for the climax of the first act. With all 40 members of the ensemble joining the cast, it provided a fitting finale to the opening half of the concert.

Another notable moment came from Saoirse Scully, who reprised her role as Constance. Her solo performance of Clockwork was warmly received by the audience and provided one of the evening’s standout musical performances.

Behind the scenes, Christine McGrath was responsible for costumes, while Alan McCormack looked after the technical production, including lighting and staging. Sound was provided by Pat Marnane, whose work helped ensure the music and performances reached the audience to full effect.

The concert gave those who had enjoyed the original production an opportunity to revisit its music, while also allowing those who missed the sell out run in April to experience some of the highlights of the show.

For the society, the evening was about more than revisiting a successful production. The Clockmaker’s Daughter in Concert was the first of a series of fundraising events being organised in preparation for St. Mary’s Choral Society’s next major production, Chess the Musical.

The musical will be staged at the White Memorial Theatre in April 2027, with the society now embarking on preparations for what promises to be another major undertaking.

The strong support for the concert, reflected in the 300 strong sell out audience at the Talbot Hotel, provides an encouraging start to the fundraising campaign as St. Mary’s Choral Society looks ahead to its next production.