City of Derry International Choir Festival announces special guest artists for its tenth edition this October

The City of Derry International Choir Festival returns this October for its tenth festival and organisers have announced the fantastic line-up of guest artists for this year’s programme of events, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Finnish a cappella sensation ‘Rajaton’ will perform on Friday 21 October in the Millennium Forum. In 2022, they are celebrating 25 years of music-making together, and as part of the 10th City of Derry International Choir Festival, they will perform in Derry for the first time with an exciting mix of musical styles, ranging from pop to jazz to classical music. With their infectious energy and boundless ability to entertain and inspire, this will be a highlight event of the 5-day festival.

On Thursday 20 October, the festival has announced a very special choral treat with the world-class Polish Radio Choir in the beautiful surroundings of the Guildhall. This stunning choral ensemble will present a unique concert of contemporary compositions by some of Poland’s most outstanding and renowned composers, set to the poetry of some of the most influential and revered Polish Romantics, in this historic ‘Year of Polish Romanticism’.

Award-winning and internationally-renowned Derry chamber choir Codetta will return to the festival for a late-night performance of Duruflé’s magnificent Requiem on Friday 21 October. Codetta will be joined by members of the Opera Studio Beckmann (Mexico) for what promises to be a glorious evening of choral music in St. Eugene’s Cathedral, conducted by Artistic Director of the Festival, Dónal Doherty.

Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music and Opera, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented, “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is thrilled to support the City of Derry International Choir Festival thanks to The National Lottery players. Congratulations to the Festival team on curating this exciting programme of choral music. I would encourage everyone to go along and enjoy!”

In addition to a full programme of live events, the festival is also now inviting submissions for its 2022 Virtual Choral Trail. One of the most recent additions to the programme, this digital version of choral performance began in response to the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 and has since become a hugely successful element in the festival’s annual programme of events, with 70 choirs from across the world taking part last year. Choirs are asked to submit short video performances for presentation on the festival’s social media channels during festival week as an exciting and eclectic mix of choral music from around the globe.

Tickets are now on sale for all events with early bird and group deals available. All tickets are available from Millennium Forum Box Office on 02871 264 455 or www.millenniumforum.co.uk.