European Medical Students’ Orchestra and Choir
St Brendan's R.C. Church,
Wilmer Road, Birr
Tuesday 18 August, 8.00pm
Programme
La Mer
C. Debussy
Beati Quorum Via & Coelos Ascendit Hodie
C. V. Stanford
The Comet & Proud Music of the Storm
L. Sheils
Pie Jesu
R. Clarke
Mo Ghile Mear & Irish Blessing
Trad., arr. D. Earley
Gloria
J. Rutter
Riverdance
B. Whelan
The European Medical Students' Orchestra and Choir (EMSOC) is delighted to perform at St Brendan's R.C. Church (Wilmer Road) Birr, on Tuesday 18 August, for a special charity concert in aid of Offaly Hospice.
For more than three decades, EMSOC has brought together medical students, young doctors, and healthcare professionals from across Europe through a shared passion for music. Each year, participants gather in a different host country for an intensive ten-day programme of rehearsals, culminating in a series of charity performances.
As well as performing together, participants have the opportunity to meet fellow medical students and young healthcare professionals from across Europe, sharing cultures, forming friendships, and creating connections through music.
In 2026, EMSOC is proud to be hosted in Ireland by a team of medical students and young healthcare professionals. The Birr concert forms part of a three-concert Irish tour, with performances also taking place in Galway Cathedral on 19 August in aid of Galway Hospice, and at The Helix, Dublin, on 21 August in aid of Friends of St Luke's. Every ticket sold will help support these vital charities.
EMSOC is conducted by Dr. Ciarán Crilly & Dr. Róisín Blunnie. Concert Master: Dr. Olivia Howdle
The Birr concert is kindly supported by Offaly County Council, the JVM Trench Will Trust and Birr Festival of Music.
Tickets €20 + booking fee
Doors: 7.30pm
Songs of Travel and Of Home
Sunday 16 August, 3.00pm
St Brendan's Church of Ireland Oxmantown Mall
Pascal Kennedy baritone
Sophie Ward piano
This National Heritage Week, join baritone Pascal Kennedy and pianist Sophie Ward as they take you on a journey through the musically rich storytelling of Art Song. Together they perform Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel alongside some beautiful Irish artsongs, with composers such as Herbert Hughes, Thomas Moore and the poetry of W.B Yeats and James Joyce.
Proceeds in aid of the Church of Ireland Restoration Fund.
This event is with thanks to support from the JVM Trench Will Trust.
Tickets €15 + booking fee | Children free
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Pascal Kennedy
began his singing journey with Deirdre Hanniffy in Birr and went on to study at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin. During this time, he played the role of “The Ghost of Michael Furey” in Frank McGuinness’ adaptation of James Joyce’s The Dead on the Abbey Theatre’s stage, one of the highlights of his career to date. He continued his studies in London, but these were unfortunately cut short due to illness. Pascal turned his focus to teaching, where he taught singing in the UK and Ireland, including running the Oxmantown School of Music in Birr for two years preceding the COVID-19 lockdowns. He found great joy in working with students during this break from performing. Recently, Pascal has returned to singing and is delighted to be back in the place it all started.
Sophie Ward
is a pianist, accompanist, and music teacher based in Birr, Co. Offaly. She holds a BA in Music from Trinity College Dublin and completed two postgraduate diplomas at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy in Hungary, specialising in piano accompaniment and piano pedagogy. She studied piano for many years at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with Therese Fahy. She has performed as both a soloist and collaborative pianist in recitals across Ireland, the UK, France, and Hungary. She was recently appointed as an examiner with the RIAM. She is co-founder of the Birr community choir Sing It!. She also accompanies the Birr Young Voices children's choirs, the Mellow Tones choir in Cloughjordan and the Omna Singers in Portumna.