CLARECASTLE tenor Dean Power returns to his alma mater of St. Flannan’s College in Ennis next Tuesday (December 17th) at 7pm to perform Christmas carols in a special candlelit service in the school chapel.
Members of the public are invited to the event which also will commemorate the life and contributions of the late Rev. Fr Joseph McMahon, a former Principal of the school and Parish Priest of Scariff and Moynoe, Feakle, and Killanena and Flagmount.
Donations received on the evening will go toward Milford Care Hospice where Fr. McMahon passed away last month.
Fr. Ignatius McCormack, Principal of St. Flannan’s College said, “We are looking forward to welcoming past and present students, their families and the wider community to our annual Christmas Carol Service, which celebrates the true spirit of the Christmas season through joyful music”.
“We are also excited to welcome former student Dean Power who will be performing carols with musical accompaniment provided via our newly commissioned chapel organ. Throughout the service, our thoughts will be with the friends and family of our former colleague Fr. Joe who passed away in November,” he added.
A native of Clarecastle, Dean Power has firmly established himself as a solo guest artist on the international stage having performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues including the Teatro Real in Madrid, National Concert Hall in Dublin, Opéra de Lille, Theater St Gallen, NHK Tokyo, Gärtnerplatz Staatstheater in Munich, Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos in Lisbon and the National Opera House in Wexford.
On the concert platform, Dean has sung Handel’s Messiah in Limerick, performed a solo recital at the Castleconnell Autumn Concert Series, and joined the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Dublin for the premiere of Civil War Oratorio, a new work by Irish composer Anne-Marie O’Farrell, written to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the Irish Civil War.
Dean’s performances across the world have resulted in collaborations with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir, Bayerische Philharmonie, Augsburg Philharmonic Choir, and the Maximilian Chor in Munich where he is currently based.
Speaking ahead of his return to St. Flannan’s College, Dean commented, “It is hard to believe that it’s over 20 years since I was a student there. The 5 years I spent in Flannan’s ended up being an incredibly formative time in my life. I’m honoured to be asked to come back and sing at the mass”.
