In Pictures: Derry's Encore Choir rocks the Rafters to celebrate 15th birthday

The choir, which has performed at numerous events and venues since its inception, including sell-out concerts in the Waterside Theatre and the Millennium Forum, and showcases in Newgate Arts and Culture Centre and An Culturlann, began life in a classroom in St Columb’s College under the baton of the multi-talented, Emmet Doherty, the choir’s Musical Director.

Over the years, it has had a number of rehearsal spaces but in the last three years has made its home in the Light Space in Pennyburn.

Encore is a mixed choir, performing a wide range of contemporary music, starting off in its early days with Black Eyed Peas ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ and Starship’s ‘Nothin’s Gonna Stop us Now’, through to ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, ‘Shut up and Dance’, ‘This is Me’, ‘Symphony’, ‘ ‘Proud’, ‘Pink Pony Club’ ‘Ordinary’, and much, much more – around 100 songs in its repertoire!.

Encore was asked to perform for the Dalai Lama on two occasions and they performed Labi Siffre’s ‘Something inside so Strong’ and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.

The choir has also, for the last several years, performed at the annual ‘Darkness into Light’ event and is a regular at the ‘Relay for Life, Candle of Hope’ event in St Columb’s Park. They have performed at many City Council events over the years, including welcoming Santa to Derry, along with Big Brother finalist, Jenny Baird, last Christmas!!

Speaking about the last 15 years and his favourite performances, MD Emmet said, “The performances for the Dalai Lama were very special for us and remain so, though”, he added, “any time we’re asked to perform, it’s special, and we always aim to get our love of what we do over to our audiences.”

“We’ve done a number of weddings where the groom, or the bride, surprised their partners with a few specially chosen songs”, he continued.

“Though trying to keep a group of 30 or so singers quiet in a church balcony, while we wait for the moment to stand up and sing, to the surprise of the guests as well as the bride or groom, can be challenging!”

“We’ve also had a romance and a wedding of our own”, said Emmet. “One of our founding members, Elena, met her wife, Tasha, when Tasha joined the choir in 2012, and they were married in 2017. As you would expect, Encore couldn’t be kept away from that wedding!”

“Besides weekly rehearsals and performances, I’m always keen to encourage a social aspect to the choir and we’ve had many a good night or day out. The craic is always mighty!”, added Emmet.

As to the future, Emmet hopes the choir will continue to go from strength to strength, always aiming for a professional performance and ensuring everyone in the room, audience and choir members alike, enjoy the experience. Here’s to another 15 years for Encore Contemporary Choir!