Welcome to Dublin, Ireland! If you are new to the area and looking to join a friendly, committed chamber choir that sings challenging and rewarding music under a professional conductor, you’ve found it: a choir where newcomers quickly find both musical challenge and a community to belong to.
Many of our singers joined Cuore after moving to Dublin or graduating from university/conservatory choirs. If you’re looking for a musical home and a ready‑made community to make new friends beyond the office or campus, you’ll fit right in.
Cuore at a Glance for Prospective Members
| Singers Who Thrive in Cuore | 👂Musicianship: Confident sight-reader; good vocal technique. Many members are music educators or conductors. 🏛️ High-level Experience: Typically sang recently with a university, conservatory, cathedral, or competitive chamber choir. For emerging singers, we’re also interested in your trajectory and potential. 🌍 Age & Diversity: All adults welcome. Average age early 20s to mid 50s. We’re an international group with 10 nationalities from 3 continents. |
| When & Where | ⏰ Rehearsals: Thursday evenings, 7:30pm–9:40pm. Occasional sectional & weekend rehearsals. 📍Location: Central Dublin 2 venue. Secure bike parking & free on-street car parking. 🚊Transport: Near Harcourt or Charlemont on Luas Green line, and many bus routes. Easy cycle from Grand Canal/Silicon Docks/Trinity. 🫱🏼🫲🏾 Rehearsal Commitment: Max 2 Thursday absences per concert. “Hybrid” rehearsals on Zoom if you’re away or unwell. Individual practice between rehearsals. |
| Repertoire We Love | 🎵 Classical: From luminous Renaissance polyphony to lush Romantic harmonies and bold contemporary premieres. Special love for unaccompanied works by living and female composers. 🎻 Irish: Irish‑language gems and evocative works by Rhona Clarke, Seán Doherty, Michael McGlynn, and other voices shaping Ireland’s choral sound today. 🎶 International: Music in many languages. Open to meaningful repertoire from the cultures our singers bring with them. 🎧 Our Sound: Live a capella recordings available on our YouTube channel. |
| Choir Life | 🎉 Social: Mid-rehearsal snacks and chats, continued in a nearby pub after. Plus post-concert parties, BBQs, and trips away, often with an impromptu choir trad session. 📅 Choir Year: Term 1: Sep-Dec; Term 2: Jan-June. Concerts in beautiful venues. Occasional tours and competitions. |
| Membership Costs | 💶 Fees: €170 per term (reduced & flexible payments available) for venue, workshops, conductor’s fee & score licenses. 🎼 Scores: Digital-first; bring your tablet/print-out (loan tablet or extra print-outs on request). 👗 Performance Uniform: All-black, likely from your existing wardrobe (plus choir-provided accents). |
| How to Join | 📝 Apply to Audition: Submit our singer application form. 🗣️ Audition: 10-15 mins: range check, ear tests, 1-min solo excerpt, and sight-singing. 💛 No need to be nervous! We’re welcoming and supportive at audition; we want you to succeed! |
| How We Follow Up | ⚡ Immediate: Automatic acknowledgement, with an emailed confirmation of your form submission. ⏳ 1-2 weeks (during term time): We’ll respond with next steps. Even if it’s a “No” or “Not right now”, we try to give useful feedback. 📬 Haven’t heard back? Sorry, but it happens! Check your spam and then email us. |
If Cuore sounds like your kind of choir, we’d love to hear from you.
Curious about Irish culture and music?
If you’re from abroad, joining Cuore is a great way to experience Irish musical traditions from the inside. We regularly perform works by Irish composers, including some pieces inspired by folk idioms.
Our concerts often feature at least one work in the Irish language, and we provide pronunciation guides and translations, so everyone can engage with the text. With multiple dialects across Ireland, even native speakers appreciate the support! One of our conductor’s other choirs works entirely through Irish, and we occasionally collaborate in joint concerts with them, giving you a chance to hear Irish as a living language.
Several of our singers also play traditional instruments, and we sometimes end up in informal trad sessions, especially on trips away; another relaxed way to connect with each other and with Irish music.
Share your own musical culture with us
Cuore is proudly international, and we love learning from the musical traditions our singers bring with them. Share the choral gems from your own culture with us: the pieces you grew up with, the composers who shaped your musical identity, or the works you feel deserve a wider audience. We regularly explore repertoire in many languages, and we’re always open to discovering high‑quality music that reflects the backgrounds of our members.
Just arrived in Dublin?
Feel free to apply even if you’re still settling in; we can usually schedule an audition in your first few weeks, during term time.
Only here for a semester or a year?
There’s no harm applying, provided your experience is a good fit; we sometimes have gaps for particular projects that visiting singers can fill.
