marymclaughlin

Accepting Applications for 2010 Cór Ainglí Now

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 Guest Musicians:

Steve Coulter, harp /  Lars Johannesson, flute / Laura Reeve, bodhrán / Stephen Bigger, piano

Special guests: Zambra (women's vocal ensemble)

For Sentinel article Dec. 17th 2009 see:

<http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_14015483>

If you are interested in joining the Santa Cruz Cór Ainglí, you need to know.....

 If you are interested in having Mary work with your choir to learn some of the material please contact her to discuss           

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All written and audio arrangements are copyright to Mary Mc Laughlin and may not be used without her permission.  

 HISTORY OF THE SANTA CRUZ CÓR AINGLí

Origins:  The Cór Ainglí (Gaelic for "Angelic Choir") was founded by Mary in 2006 in Santa Cruz, California.  Mary had had the vision of her own choir for many years and having spent several  years researching and arranging Gaelic Christmas songs (which she recorded on her album A Gaelic Christmas) this seemed the right time to bring the vision into being.  As she knew some excellent singers in Santa Cruz who were also learning the Irish language, she asked them to form the core of the choir - advertising brought in more singers and the first performances in 2006 showcased 18 singers plus Mary as soloist.

Cór Ainglí Santa Cruz, California, 2006 Photo by Tom Mc Koy

Performances: The first concerts in December 2006 were held at Calvary Church Episcopal Church in downtown Santa Cruz and at Boulder Creek Methodist Church in the Santa Cruz mountains.  Both were sold out and the choir was very warmly received.  The band Camogie guested.

In 2007 the choir featured guest performers Zambra, a 12 piece accapella women's choir from Santa Cruz, some of whom were also in the Cór Ainglí.

That same year Mary went out to St. Louis Missouri to work with choir director Dennis Wells to form a St. Louis Cór Ainglí.  St. Vincent's Catholic Church, St. Louis was a wonderful venue for two packed concerts.  The guest musicians featured local Comhaltas luminaries including Eileen Gannon (harp) and Chris Weddle (bodhrán.)

Having realized that the Santa Cruz Choir had outgrown Calvary Church -  Mary decided to move to Holy Cross Catholic Church in 2008.   One of Santa Cruz's premier venues, the original Mission Church around which Santa Cruz is built, Holy Cross is a 400 seater church with much-lauded acoustics.

The Cór Ainglí had now swelled to 24 members and the 2008 performances had packed audiences in both Holy Cross Church and the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland California.  The guests this year were Libby Mc Laren's Winterberry Carollers and Libby (who also sings with Mary in Camogie) soloed along with Mary to resounding applause.  The Winterberry Carollers joined with the Cór Ainglí in the final set resulting in 40 voices singing four part harmony in Gaelic - to the delight of the packed houses.

The choir has now further grown and Mary has expanded the material to include other sacred music apart from Christmas repertoire.  She has also handed the conducting over to Katie Loveless who has assisted her from the beginning.  This has freed Mary's time up so that she can spend a long period in Ireland further studying ancient Irish music.

 For further information on Mary Mc Laughlin's Cór Ainglí Gaelic Choir please contact:

Mary Mc Laughlin: Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it