Every evening, community concerts lit up venues from Eglinton Hall to the Guildhall and St Columba’s Church, Long Tower to The Alley Theatre: choirs large and small poured their voices into classical, folk and contemporary repertoires. Daytime offered hands-on vocal workshops, including a schools’ session in St Columb’s Hall and a full afternoon in the Guildhall, led by experienced coaches eager to inspire new voices.
Christ Church hosted a performance of Jesus’ Blood composed by Gavin Bryars, which was a powerful meditation on faith, dignity, and hope. It was performed by Orchestra Northwest and a choir of community singers.
Pop-up performances surprised shoppers and passers-by in Caffé Nero outside Richmond Centre, Sainsbury’s Strand Road and an uplifting performance in the Guildhall corridors. The festival crescendoed in the “Stand Up and Sing” Gala Concert, where massed choirs joined forces in a triumphant choral finale of shared repertoire and energy.
Throughout, the message was clear and thrilling: “every voice matters” — and together they raised Derry and Strabane in song.
