Mayo concert to raise funds for repair of storm-damaged church

Louisburgh Voices and the ConTempo String Quartet with Michael Quinn (harpsichord) will be performing in Holy Trinity Church, Westport on Wednesday, May 27th, at 8pm. The concert will feature Vivaldi’s uplifting 'Gloria', along with instrumental music by J.S. Bach – his famous ‘Air’ and Five Fugues, arranged for string quartet by Mozart. Tickets (€20) are available from Seamus Duffy’s Bookshop, Westport, The Clew Bay Hotel, Westport and Gala, Louisburgh, as well as on the door.

Louisburgh Voices, established by Pauline Graham and Michael Quinn, have performed in Ballintubber Abbey, and sang in Ballina as part of the 2024 Mary Robinson Climate Conference. Previous concerts include a Medieval Christmas programme at Holy Trinity Church. The choir has raised funds for several charities, including Mayo Roscommon Hospice and Daisy Lodge, Cong. The soloists for Vivaldi’s Gloria are Hannah Thornton, Ruby Smyth and Jasmine O’Malley, who are students of Pauline Graham at Louisburgh Music School. Ruby and Jasmine were both prizewinners at the Newpark Music Festival in Dublin in February.

The ConTempo Quartet is recognised as one of the most exciting and vibrant chamber ensembles performing today. It has performed worldwide in many prestigious venues, including London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as in Paris, Rome and Berlin, and worked alongside artists of the highest calibre. It has broadcast widely on European radio and premiered and recorded many contemporary pieces. The ConTempo Quartet was chosen as Galway Music Residency’s Ensemble-in-Residence in 2003 and continues to captivate audiences throughout the city and country with its repertoire of classical, contemporary, folk and traditional music.

This concert will be a fundraising event for Holy Trinity Church, which suffered damage to its roof as a result of Storm Éowyn last year. While it is a listed building which forms a significant part of Westport’s architectural heritage, it is also the spiritual heart of the local Church of Ireland community. Holy Trinity Church was completed in the mid-nineteenth century in Neo-Gothic style, with strong Italian influences evident in its interior design and materials. Some repairs to the ceiling have been completed; further work on re-sealing the roof, repairing stonework, and restoring its stained glass windows is now required.

Holy Trinity Church regularly hosts cultural and musical events, and its acoustic offers the ideal environment for enjoying this concert of Baroque music by Vivaldi and Bach.