PARMA, Feb. 17 – Many students at Cuyahoga Community College have never been out of the country. One of the ways that the college has provided students with first-hand experience and knowledge about other cultures and countries has been through singing with the Tri-C Chorale.

After six years of staying home (mainly due to Covid-19), the Chorale has accepted an invitation to travel to Ireland and sing at the Dublin Chorale Festival, June 17-22.

“In years past, the Chorale has toured Italy and sang concerts in Venice, Venezia, Florence and Rome,” says Kira Seaton, Associate Professor of Music at Tri-C.  “The group has also performed in Montreal, Canada, and here in the United States, in performances at the Kennedy Center and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Carnegie Hall and the United Nations headquarters in New York City.”

This summer’s trip will have the Chorale singing in Ireland’s National Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral with choirs from all over the world. Emmy and Grammy-Award winning composer Jake Runestad is directing the Dublin Chorale Festival, so the trip will provide original music and a chance to perform at a life-changing appearance for them.

While in Ireland, the Chorale will also tour Trinity College, the home of the ancient Book of Kells, a Latin Celtic book of the writings and illuminations of the four Gospels, circa 800 AD.  The trip will also feature a performance of  just the Chorale at Malahide Castle, as well as visits to sites celebrating the immigration of the Irish to America.

“Many of our Chorale members have never been out of the U.S. We’re both excited and nervous about this opportunity,” says Louis Winter, a member of the Tri-C Chorale and a third-semester history student at Tri-C. “It’s going to be an amazing and unique experience to be singing with so many other choruses at the Dublin Chorale Festival.”

The students in the Chorale have raised a portion of the trip’s cost over the course of two years, with both concerts and support of other activities at the College.  The traveling students are also paying a considerable amount of the price individually.  The group has received some help from the college’s Provost, grants from the college foundation, and some private donations.  But it is also seeking support from Tri-C alumni community and the public, which can be made through a Cuyahoga Community College Foundation donor site taking tax-deductible contributions.

The site is accessible for information and donations at the following link:

https://giving.tri-c.edu/voices-to-ireland-support-the-tri-c-chorale

Additionally, bookmark this story as we will updated it by listing places where the Tri-C Chorale is performing in preparation for the summer trip to Ireland.