Seoda Chamber Choir for Longford First Friday event

Longford will continue to build on the First Friday nights opening success with another line up of entertainment. The Seoda Chamber Choir will brighten up tonight Friday, May 3, with an intimate performance in St John's Church, Battery Road, Longford.

First Fridays is a programme of late night music, comedy, dance and public art showcased on the first Friday of every month in Longford Town.

This is an exciting venture running from April to October. The programme is coordinated by Backstage Theatre in partnership with Longford County Council, with funding support from the Arts Council and Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

This aim of the initiative is to bring people into the county town to enjoy a ‘no hassle’ night of enjoyment and entertainment in pubs and venues in Longford Town.

First Fridays kicked off with a diverse line up including Declan Nerney, Emily Doyle and Omen.

The headline for the May event will see the award-winning Seoda Chamber Choir perform at St John’s Church.

The Seoda Chamber Choir is a talented group of female singers who have gained a significant international reputation over the past 18 years.

The 20 female singers share a common love of choral music and under their very talented director, Máire Keary-Scanlon, they have created a magnificent sound.

Seoda sings in 3,4,5 and 6 part harmonies and performs a broad range of work from medieval to modern and classical to light: “We like to sing popular songs that people will recognise, but we are not afraid of the challenge of doing more difficult choral works and older works that have stood the test of time,” Ms Keary-Scanlon said.

The choir has performed extensively at home in Ireland and has also travelled abroad to France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the UK.

In October 2015, Seoda competed in the Praga Cantat Festival in Prague where the choir was awarded a Silver Band in the Sacred Music category and their conductor, Máire Keary-Scanlon, was awarded the prize for Outstanding Conductor of the Festival.

As with the opening night of the initiative there will be a number of support acts in various pubs throughout the town and all will be free on the night.

The Hybrid Roosters provide the entertainment at Lyons Bar from 9:30pm. This is a Longford trio of well-respected trad musicians - Sean Sweeney, Luke Casey & Michael Lennon. They blend folk and trad music with their undeniable sense of humour. This is a free performance.

The Roaring Marys are four trad musicians who love their craft. Noel Carberry (Longford), Nuala Donlon (Longford), Therese Hanly (Roscommon) and John Campbell (Meath) bring their exciting styling to The Tally Ho bar from 9:30pm in another free gig.

The fourth offering of the evening is Strad, who play Edward J. Valentines, Main St from 9.30pm. Strad are a fine young group of trad instrumentalists, formed in 2020 to play alongside Sharon Shannon and Nathan Carter on the TG4 TV show Homeland. Strad performs a unique sound of traditional music with a twist.

the St John's Church, Battery Road, Longford show takes place tonight Friday, May 3, starting at 8pm. Tickets cost €10 and are available on www.backstage.ie or at the door tonight