“EVERY SONG TELLS a story,” High Hopes co-ordinator Glenn Alexander says.
“And every single member of the High Hopes Choir has a story to tell – a story that may contain unfathomable loneliness but it also contains courage. It’s also a story that conveys remarkable hope.”
Its members first hit the headlines after an RTE documentary in 2014, and there is more good news for Ireland’s first homeless choir, as they have been announced as the headliner for the upcoming Sligo International Choral Festival.
The High Hopes Choir will kick off proceedings at the 28th Sligo International Choral Festival at the Gala Concert in the Knocknarea Arena on Friday 11 November at 8pm.
Sean Larkin, festival chairman for the event, says: “We are delighted to announce, on World Homeless Day, that the High Hopes Choir will join us at the Sligo International Choral Festival for their first ever performance in Sligo.”
High Hopes will kick off the festival, which will take place over three days and include a range of styles, ranges and ensembles, from school choir and jazz orchestras to gospel and barbershop choirs. Around 58 entries have been submitted from both Irish and international choirs for the festival.
The High Hopes Choir is supported by several charities across the country, including Dublin Simon Community, Saint Vincent de Paul, Focus Ireland and Penny Dinners Cork.
The group most recently performed at last weekend’s Busker Fleadh in Smithfield, and the choir, which since 2014 has involved more than 90 homeless adults, continue to perform throughout the country led by former RTE Concert Orchestra principal conductor, David Brophy.
Larkin adds:
We look forward to the 80-strong choir joining us and we will be providing accommodation for them. We are looking for donations in order to help us fund the visit from this inspirational choir and are asking members of the public to help.
Alexander says that the choir continues to help change the public perception around homelessness and what it means to be homeless in Ireland today, from its regional choirs in Dublin, Cork and Waterford.
You can find tickets for the High Hopes show at the Sligo International Choral Festival here.
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