What is New Dublin Voices?

International award-winning New Dublin Voices is a leading Irish chamber choir. Founded by conductor Bernie Sherlock in 2005, from the start the choir has presented concert programmes that are fresh, innovative, and exciting, ranging widely in style and period from the medieval to the contemporary. The choir takes special pleasure in exploring the music of living composers and has given numerous Irish and world premieres.

New Dublin Voices has won prizes at major competitions in France, Hungary, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Latvia, Ireland, Slovenia, England and Italy, including first prize at the Concorso Polifonico in Arezzo, Italy in August 2013, thereby becoming the first Irish choir to win a place in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. Awards also include the Grand Prix at the 2nd International Baltic Sea Choir Competition in Jūrmala, 2017, the Grand Prix at the 12th Budapest International Choir Competition 2009,  and all six prizes, including Choir of the Festival, at the 2011 International Choir Contest of Flanders-Maasmechelen, 2011. Most recently they were awarded the 1st prize overall in the International Competition at the 7th City of Derry International Choir Festival, 2019, and the 3rd prize overall at the 16th International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf, 2019

New Dublin Voices has been selected to take part in some of Europe’s most prestigeous festivals: 33rd Association of British Choral Directors Annual Convention, Leeds, UK, 2018; 11th World Symposium on Choral Music, Barcelona, 2017; 63rd Cork International Choral Festival, 2017; Festival des Choeurs Lauréats, France, 2015; Polyfollia, France, 2014; European Youth Choir Festival, Switzerland, 2014; and Musique en Morvan, France, 2012.
The choir’s busy calendar also includes fund-raising for charities, television appearances, guesting with Ireland’s professional orchestras, and performing at special public events. New Dublin Voices features on the soundtrack of The Letter, a movie about Mother Teresa released in 2015. The choir has released four CDs – Make We Merry in 2017, Music from Ireland in 2014, Something Beginning with B, devoted to music by Irish composers and was released in 2014 by Ireland’s leading record label, RTÉ lyric fmfeaturing everything from Byrd to the Beatles, and Christmas with New Dublin Voices in 2010.

The singers who make up New Dublin Voices come from many backgrounds but share in common high levels of experience and musicianship, a commitment to attracting new audiences, and above all a love of performing excellent choral music.

“… a soft-textured beauty… New Dublin Voices has this in abundance.” Michael Dervan, The Irish Times

“…the choral effect being simply breathtaking throughout in its refined beauty.” – Dick O’Riordan, The Sunday Business Post

“My first impulse after playing Make We Merry…was to play it all again. It has 18 tracks…and bubbles with energy and wit.” – Richard Morrison, The Times (UK)