Dublin: Young people gearing up for Emmanual music festival

Live at the Helix

A live musical event, run by the Archdiocese of Dublin for teenagers, has seen demand for participation increase so much that it now runs for three days and nights instead of one. Emmanuel is a live concert series where over 2,000 young people from schools all over Dublin learn new and old church music and hymns and then perform live with an orchestra in front of large audiences in Dublin’s Helix.

The series includes a liturgical 'Voice-type competition which sees teenage girls and boys getting an extraordinary opportunity to perform solo each night, backed by a choir of over 700 voices. Other students can try out for a ‘Kathryn Thomas’ role, presenting and introducing segments of the show!

Emmanuel will begin in Dublin’s Helix theatre on Tuesday night, 2 March running until Thursday. 2,100 secondary school students will take part, 700 each day, rehearsing hymns and music that will be performed on stage each night. During the day students participate in workshops on a variety of religious themes, with an emphasis on faith and social justice. As the event is taking place during Lent, there is much focus on the current Trócaire campaign, highlighting the effects of drought and hunger on millions of people around the world. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who is patron of the Emmanuel Programme, will be among those attending next week.

Also taking part this year will be the girls from St Mary’s School for the Deaf. The girls learn the songs of the concert series in sign language and perform as a deaf choir on the stage of the Helix each night. They are the only school group to participate every evening and their enormous contribution to the event enhances each of the concerts.

The songs, music and prayers the student groups perform over the three nights of Emmanuel combine century’s old Church music, from Pachelbel’s wedding favourite “Canon in D” to a newly composed song by Fr. Liam Lawton, especially written this year to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of the death of Ireland’s missionary Saint Columban. Students use the music, prayers and reflections they learn at Emmanuel in school Masses and Liturgies throughout the year. ENDS

Live concerts begin at 7.30pm on Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March

Tickets for Emmanuel 2015 are still on sale at just €10 each from: www.thehelix.ie

For more information see: Schools promote Emmanuel music www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gjo9SxrOFk

Emmanuel 2014 www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gjo9SxrOFk