By Business & Finance 
The Sacred Heart of Jesus National School Staff Choir, Workplace Choir of the Year 2018 winners
Last Sunday night saw the Workplace Choir of the Year final take place at Clasac in Clontarf. In total, nine choirs from Dublin, Cork and Armagh battled for the prize.
The winners
The Sacred Heart of Jesus National School Staff Choir, under the leadership of Eileen Murray, took away the prize for a second year in a row. The choir sang two pieces – ‘And So It Goes’ by Billy Joel and ‘Amarillas’.
Runner-up went to the ‘Legally Sound’ choir from ByrneWallace, directed by Maria Stanley and accompanied by Roy Holmes. Their performances consisted of ‘The Pink Panther’ by Henry Mancini and ‘Adiemus’ from ‘Songs of Sanctuary’ by Karl Jenkins.
High-profile judging
Included in the adjudicators’ panel for the event were Orla Flanagan, Assistant Professor of Music at Trinity College Dublin; Claudia Boyle, internationally-renowned soprano and Ian McGlynn, vocalist and RTÉ lyric fm presenter. They praised the work of each individual choir and recognised the importance of the event.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus National School Staff Choir celebrate the win
Workplace Choir of the Year Director Peter Staunton commented on the standard of the event:
We began in 2013 with eight participants and a mission to establish more choirs in workplaces so that people could experience the joy and the benefits of choral singing. The number of workplace choirs we’ve seen since then now stands at 46. These choirs have achieved a standard above and beyond anything we could have anticipated.
He continued: “Until relatively recently, none of these choirs existed. Now, they are some of the finest amateur choirs in the country, and we at Workplace Choir of the Year are immensely proud to have played a small part in that.
“We want to spread the message that choral singing is accessible to everybody, and we want to get as many workplaces as possible involved. To that end, we are planning regional events in 2019 and lowering the barriers to entry.”
