Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Concert includes Staff Choirs and Special Guests
The HSE is inviting health care staff and the general public to attend their annual Christmas Concert which takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, 21 of December from 4 to 5:30 pm. This year marks the fifth HSE staff choir event, and the third to be delivered virtually. With Covid having dominated so much of the lives of healthcare workers in recent years, this year’s event illustrates again how music lifts and transcends, providing joy to all involved.
Members of the public can join the concert by registering here.
The event, hosted by the HSE’s Health & Wellbeing team, will include performances from HSE staff choirs from the four corners of Ireland, with special guests including renowned cellist Gerard Peregrine, Niamh Kavanagh and Jerry Fish.
Taking part in a staff choir has been shown to have a great impact on health and wellbeing and also offers staff an opportunity to meet staff from different areas of the service. There is an overwhelmingly positive response in terms of physical, social benefits and emotional benefits, which is often then shared when staff choirs perform locally for their colleagues, for charities and for their patients.
Speaking about the event, Dr Philip Crowley, National Director, Strategy and Research, HSE says, “We are delighted to invite the public to this year’s Christmas Concert. This is the fifth year of our Christmas Concert and this year we are excited to be joined by some famous faces such as Jerry Fish, Niamh Kavanagh and Gerald Peregrine who have done such amazing work bringing music and joy through the Care Concerts initiative. Over 100,000 people have heard the Care Concerts in the grounds of residential care homes, hospitals, psychiatric/disability services, day care centres and direct provision centres.
“HSE choirs from across different parts of the country, who have been practicing hard all year and are excited to deliver some festive songs and Christmas cheer, will participate in the annual Christmas Concert. Registration is free and we would encourage as many people as possible to join us for some festive fun and great music.”
Among those featuring this year is Letterkenny Hospital Choir, made up of 30 current and retired staff members, along with colleagues working in community services locally. Their talent, commitment and enthusiasm has been harnessed by Musical Director Veronica McCann whom many will remember as featuring on Britain’s Got Talent some years ago.
Those who join the concert on the day will also be in with a chance of winning one of two family tickets to ‘Toy Show the Musical’.
ENDS
spokesperson available upon request.
Additional Information:
There are at least 15 HSE Choirs in operation across the country, many of which are made up of current and retired staff. See below for a list of some of these choirs participating in this year’s Concert.
- Letterkenny University Hospital Choir – watch their performance of Ave Maria at St. Eunan’s Cathedral Letterkenny at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG0E3C2CkO0
- Carlow Melodies Choir
- Tullamore Choir
- St. Johns Choir Limerick
- Roscommon Key Notes Choir
- Our Voices Tallaght UH Community Choir
- St. James’s Choir
Last updated on: 21 / 12 / 2022
