Press Release Monday February 26th 2018
Emmanuel Concert Series gets underway in the Helix
Dublin secondary school students will take to the stage this week, singing hymns that will be sung at Mass in the Phoenix Park this August – hopefully celebrated by Pope Francis! Although a visit by Pope Francis to the World Meeting of Families has yet to be confirmed, preparations – even down to the choice of music for ceremonies at the World Meeting – are already under way. Some of that religious music will be heard live, for the first time this week, at Emmanuel, which starts in the Helix in Dublin tonight (Monday).
Among the many compositions, the students will sing will be three pieces, which have been specially written for the World Meeting of Families in August– Joy for all the Earth by Ephron Feely, People of Joy, written by Brendan Dowd and a piece from Liam Lawton – Joy for the World.
Run by the Archdiocese of Dublin, Emmanuel is unique in the Irish Catholic Church, bringing together thousands of students from 70 different schools all over the Archdiocese. The event has been taking place for 12 years and the 2018 project is the largest to date, with over 2,500 students participating. As in previous years, students from the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra will take part, signing in the concerts on Wednesday & Thursday.
Emmanuel is centred on faith development for teenagers and also gives talented young students a fantastic opportunity to sing live in front of a large audience, backed by a choir of hundreds of their peers. Each evening’s performance is almost entirely student-led with soloists chosen from participating schools, musicians performing from the student body and student presenters acting as MC’s.
Each day before the concerts, students are invited to take part in faith-based workshops, with reflections and rehearsals of music for the night ahead. Each morning of workshops is followed by full rehearsals and then a live concert every evening where parents, family members, teachers and the public get to enjoy the fruits of the musical and spiritual preparations.
The students take the music and prayers they learn during Emmanuel and adapt them to prayer services in their school communities throughout the year. Hopefully, the Emmanuel class of 2018 will get to sing what they learn for the Pope! ENDS
• Emmanuel in the Helix begins tonight (Monday) at 7.30pm and runs until Thursday. Tickets for each night are available from thehelix.ie
• More information on the preparations for the World Meeting of Families available here worldmeeting2018.ie
