Taking place at The National Concert Hall on 15th June, 8pm, this special event is presented by Miriam O’Callaghan and features a 47-piece orchestra conducted by David Brophy.
An impressive 1,200 live concerts have been performed at residential care homes/hospitals/mental health settings since 2020, and with 600 more planned, this is the largest live arts response to the pandemic on a global level.
Created by Irish cellist Gerald Peregrine, the evening’s all-star cast includes Claudia Boyle, Steve Cooney, Mary Coughlan, Dermot Dunne, Jerry Fish, Red Hurley, Niamh Kavanagh, Seán Keane, Des Keogh, John Spillane, Anthony Kearns, Lynda O’Connor, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Prof. Luke O’Neill, Simon Morgan, Na Casaidigh, Sandra Oman, Eimear Quinn, Gavan Ring, Sibéal, Séamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta, Kelly Ann Masterson, Sylvia O’Brien and Gerald Peregrine himself.
Covid Care Concert Series
The event brings together all the artists who performed as part of the Covid Care Concert series throughout 2020 and 2021. Devised by cellist Gerald Peregrine, the Covid Care Concert project was a rapid response to the challenges created by the pandemic for artists, with the primary goal of relieving isolation and suffering in residential care homes and hospitals across Ireland. Since its inception, the project has delivered over 1,200 free, live concerts in 21 counties across Ireland, north and south of the border, employing over 100 professional musicians.
Speaking about the project, Peregrine said: “The project is the largest arts-led response of its kind on a global level and speaks to the heart of the Irish spirit and sense of community. The project brought household names to the doorstep of residential care settings across Ireland at a time when all visitors and occupational arts were restricted. The project continues in 2022, with over 600 additional concerts planned throughout the year”.
Presented with support from Creative Ireland and The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the evening will see a 47-piece orchestra, made up of Ireland’s finest freelance artists – many of whom have performed the Covid Care Concerts around the country – perform. Conducted by renowned conductor David Brophy, the concert will also feature Brophy’s Frontline Workers Choir.
A portion of the tickets will be given free to frontline workers and residents from the many care homes and hospitals that benefited from the project.
