Established in 2013, Allegri is a community-based arts & culture initiative. We have ladies & children’s choirs & in 2019 established the NorthWest region’s first & only community symphony orchestra, Orchestra NorthWest. The Every Voice Festival founded in 2018 has become an annual community choir festival with around 70 events involving local, national & international choirs.
Our work celebrates the transformative power of singing & performing together. Committed to raising the standard of arts practice in our city & beyond, we offer a wide range of prestigious performance opportunities in civic venues as well as projects in communities outside urban areas, promoting access & widening participation.
We aim to inspire audiences with a diverse programme & put great emphasis on participant enjoyment in a relaxed, inclusive atmosphere. In addition to rehearsals, we offer workshops & outreach projects to a wide range of local people. We run cross-community & -cultural projects with music, drama, poetry, dance, yoga & mindfulness & have worked with women’s groups, schools & charities including Foyle Down Syndrome Trust & DEEDS.
We commissioned a suite of choral works based on original poetry by local poet Micheal McCann & set to music by American composer, Dr Shane Lynch- ‘Every Voice’(an anthem for our community singing festival), ‘Beauty’s In Your Singing’ (for young people on the subject of positive mental health & suicide prevention) & ‘A Cheerful Place’ (celebrating the women of our city’s shirt-making tradition).
Since inception in June 2019, the orchestra has performed three sell out concerts & generated much publicity province-wide. We have also developed a working relationship with the Ulster Orchestra & future collaborations are planned.
We administer the North-West Choir Forum, an open social media networking group & our professional video projects have been viewed by over 100k people online.