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Huddersfield, Here We Come!

The bags are packed, the music folders carefully stowed, the uniforms are complete and neatly packed in the bags (should I check one more time?). Kerry Choral Union are on the road!! We’re so delighted to be joining up with the Gledholt Male Voice Choir for another concert this year. And we’re even more delighted that this time it’s the return leg. We are off to perform this weekend in Huddersfield. Before we even leave though, we have to thank David and all the gang there for their help in organising this trip. Their local knowledge is proving invaluable and their pride in Yorkshire is tangible in every offer to greet us, guide us, host us and generally show us that great Northern hospitality! See you soon.

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Our Guest Soloists for the Christmas Gala Concert Part 3

From Kherson to Kerry

Maksym (Maks) Lozovyi

Kerry Choral Union is delighted to announce that Maksym Lozovyi will also be joining us on stage at our Christmas Gala concert on Sunday night. Maksym is a famous baritone from Ukraine and is especially well-known in his native city of Kherson. Due to the atrocities of the war being waged against his country, Maksym was forced to leave his city with his family.

In Ukraine, Maksym performed to sold out audiences. His baritone voice is full of extraordinary timbre and he is a very musical and artistic performer. His favorite genre is opera, but he also sings popular music. Maksym has won many prizes in Ukraine for his singing including;

– Second prize at the international opera vocal competition “Open international audition” (2018, Rimini, Italy)

– A special prize for best singer at the international M. Magomayev competition in Lviv 2019.

– He has also participated in a major international opera festival in Kherson (2020)

Maksym tells us he is very happy to perform in Tralee on Sunday as a guest soloist with Kerry Choral Union, but he’s not as happy as we are to have him.

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Our Guest Soloists for the Christmas Gala Concert Part 2

Lucy White

Lucy White has a BMus from Huddersfield University where she specialized in performance. She taught violin and performed with several orchestras throughout the UK before moving to County Kerry in 2001 where she has continued to perform and teach. In 2016 she was a founding member of Kerry Scotia Ensemble, Kerry’s only professional string ensemble and in 2019, alongside 2 teaching colleagues, established Sempre Music Academy, providing quality string and piano tuition throughout County Kerry. 

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Our Guest Soloists for the Christmas Gala Concert Part 1

Introducing Megan O’Neill

Megan O’Neill is a soprano from Killarney, County Kerry. She completed her BMus Degree
in Maynooth University in 2018 and graduated with a First Class Honours Degree. In August 2020, she completed her Masters in Music Performance Degree at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where she received a First Class Honours. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Music Performance Degree at the RIAM. Megan was a lead soloist at the prestigious
Maynooth Annual Carol Service under the direction of Dr John O’Keeffe. In 2016, she
featured as a soloist with ‘Choir of the World’ Maynooth University Chamber Choir on their
tour of America and China. In 2019, Megan played the role of Mary-Braud in the Irish
première of the opera Banished by British composer Stephen McNeff. Later in 2019, she
played the role of Sirena in Francesca Caccini’s opera Alcina at the Abbey Theatre, gaining
her a feature in The Irish Times. She starred as Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia by Benjamin
Britten in the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2019, coached by Brenda Hurley. Megan
performed at the launch of Sorolla, Spanish Master of Light, the 2019 exhibition at the
National Gallery of Ireland curated by Ann Murray and was a featured soloist in A Heavenly
Christmas Tree by Colin Mawby, conducted by Blanaid Murphy at St Ann’s Church, Dublin.
In November 2020, she was awarded second prize in the Irené Sandford singing competition.
Megan is also a part of the Camerata Ireland Academy for the year 2020/2021.



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Gala Christmas Concert 2022

We are so looking forward to our Gala Christmas Concert on December 11th. Our last Christmas concert in St. John’s was in 2019 and a lot has changed in the world since then but one thing remains constant – music and our love of it! This year we will be welcoming back to Tralee our friends from Duhallow Choral Society, taking the number of singers to well over 100. With soloists, Megan O’Neill, soprano and Lucy White, violinist, it promises to be a magical evening of wonderful Christmas music, exactly what you need to get into the Christmas spirit.