The Chorus of the Glasnevin Musical Society currently boasts over 60 members who range in age from 18 years to the more mature!

Our musical repertoire covers a wide variety of musical tastes from the classic to the contemporary and from Broadway to Baroque!

The Society, since its foundation in 1958 has maintained its reputation as one of the leading musical groups on the Irish scene and as such is frequently in demand outside of our own events. We rehearse in Dublin City University and Glasnevin Lawn Tennis Club. The Society is indebted to DCU and GLTC for the use of their facilities and to DCU for the provision of storage for out vast library of music.

February 2008 saw the Glasnevin Musical Society celebrating our Golden Jubilee in the afterglow of the success of Showstoppers at Christmas in the National Concert Hall. With some of the performance highlights being from shows as modern as The Lion King, and Jekyll & Hyde, we’ve come a long way since our beginnings in Glasnevin’s ‘wooden’ church! Founded in 1958 by Fr. John O'Brien, The Glasnevin Musical Society has been ambitious and professional from the start. Our first show was The Desert Song, with John Hanson of BBC fame in the lead role. The standard, success and spirit of that very first show has lived on in the GMS, and we’ve maintained our place as one of the most dynamic and vibrant amateur organisations in Ireland during the past 50 years.

In 1959, we preformed The Student Prince, and in 1960 we moved to the classic surrounds of the Olympia Theatre with The Lily of Killarney. During the first ten years, we staged classics such as Brigadoon and Calamity Jane, and ventured into the realm of opera with The Bohemian Girl and Die Fledermaus.

The 1970’s was an important decade in the life of the Society. In 1972, we made our first appearance in the Gaiety Theatre with our production of The Merry Widow. 1976 was another significant year in our history as Colman Pearce debuted as our Musical Director, a role which we’re honoured to say he holds to this day. In the same year, we began our series of ‘Favourite Melodies’, concerts bursting with popular and well loved songs that we’ve continued to stage ever since! We ended the ‘70’s celebrating our 21st birthday, with a Gala Concert in the RDS and a banquet in Jurys Hotel, followed with the ever popular Merry Widow.

The 1980’s marked a return of some classic light opera in the form of Die Fledermaus and The Irish Ring, along with numerous productions of our Favourite Melodies concerts. The 1990’s saw us revisit our very first show, The Desert Song, and more modern classics such as Me and My Girl together with Give my Regards and Showtime.

We began the Noughties with a new modern mix to our repertoire, the Showstoppers series. Fully choreographed and costumed, these shows attracted a new youthful audience and new talent to the stage. Our last show of 2007 was Showstoppers at Christmas, a mixture of Broadway hits and Christmas favourites. The audience sang along, bopped in their chairs and many wished they were on stage with us! During the Noughties, we also celebrated the centenary of the first performance of The Merry Widow with our presentation in the National Concert Hall and produced the coldwar ’80’s hit, Chess - a love-triangle involving three highly strung Chess masters with a dollop of political intrigue mixed in, set in the striking locations of Alpine Merano and exotic Bangkok. Who wouldn’t be intrigued?!

Since our modest start in 1958, we’ve staged more than 50 operettas and musicals at many venues including the National Concert Hall, and the Gaiety and Olympia theatres. We’ve entertained the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese at a family day in Áras an Úachtaráin and performed at the Opening Cermony of the Special Olympic Games (2003). We’ve also participated in numerous broadcasts on Television and Radio, our highlight being our involvement in Perry Como's Irish Christmas Show, recorded at the Point Theatre, Dublin in 1993. This show was televised worldwide and has been broadcast coast to coast on American television every Christmas since. Impressive for the little group who shared a love of music in Glasnevin’s wooden church.

During the past 50 years, legions of members have performed with the GMS – in a myriad of musicals, variety shows and concerts. We haven’t had the opportunity to perform together, but we have shared experiences that we can all understand and smile through. We’ve sung lines in each others ears when our neighbour was lost; we’ve downed cold beers after exhausting rehearsals; we’ve held impromptu rehearsals to get up to speed with the trickier dance numbers; we’ve shared backstage giggles; we’ve swopped character shoes when someone snapped theirs; we’ve helped someone with that tricky costume change; we’ve help smooth in panstick; we’ve indulged in last minute rehearsals in the anti room; we’ve listened collectively, churning tummys, to our pep talks…and our notes; but most importantly, we’ve sung, we’ve danced, and we’ve laughed. A ‘jubilee’ is defined as a time to rejoice – and that’s exactly what we’re here to do tonight. We want to applaud the great achievements of our society; salute our fellow members; and celebrate the good times!

The Society, founded in 1958 by the late Fr. O’Brien, has embodied the spirit of that first show, The Desert Song with the renowned John Hanson of BBC fame, all through these past fifty years. The Society has grown from strength to strength and has consolidated its place as one of the most dynamic amateur organisations in the Irish music scene, through the high standard of it productions. In the programme we have detailed our repertoire, listing our shows and concerts over the past fifty years - and the wonderful guests, principals and soloists with whom we have shared the musical stage.

The Society soon outgrew the St Francis Xavier Hall and in 1960 we moved to the classical surrounds of the Olympia Theatre with The Lily of Killarney. During our first decade, we staged a number of musicals and operettas, from the wispy heather of the fictitious Brigadoon to the glamour of Die Fledermaus. The 1970’s was an important decade in the life of the Society. In 1972, we made out first appearance in the Gaiety Theatre with a production of The Merry Widow, an operetta which has remained a redoubtable favourite with the Society and audience alike. In 1976, we embarked on the immensely popular Favourite Melodies series, and we had a new addition to the Society as our esteemed Music Director, Colman Pearce, took control of the baton; a role we are honoured to say he holds to this day. We ended the 1970’s celebrating our 21st birthday with a Gala Concert in the RDS and of course, The Merry Widow.

The 1980s marked the return of operettas (Die Fledermaus and The Irish Ring), together with numerous concerts. In 1984, the Society held the unique honour of being the first group to present a fully staged and choreographed show in the National Concert Hall with a production of The Gipsy Baron. In the 1990’s the Society was invited to partake in the hugely successful production of Me & My Girl in the Olympia Theatre. The Chorus has been invited on many occasions to perform with renowned artists and has guested for RTÉ productions, many of which have been broadcast on both television and radio. A true highlight, however, was our invitation to sing with Perry Como in his Perry Como’s Irish Christmas Show, recorded at the Point Theatre in 1993. This show was televised worldwide and has been broadcast coast to coast on American television every Christmas since. In 1998, the Society was honoured to perform for the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, at a family day in Áras an Úachtaráin.

We began the ‘noughties’ with a modern mix to our repertoire, the very successful Showstoppers series, which has grown from year to year. A choreographed and costumed energetic production, Showstoppers combines favourites from Broadway and the West End to the Silver Screen. The Society was also fortunate to be invited to perform at the very memorable Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympic Games in Croke Park in 2003. No decade would be complete without our favourite The Merry Widow, and we enjoyed a sell-out show in the National Concert Hall in 2005. We also marked another special anniversary- 30 years of the Favourite Melodies series with a fantastic concert in 2006. The latter stage of this decade has seen the Society as busy as ever and the staging of new shows to the Society’s repertoire with Chess in 2007 and Jekyll & Hyde in October 2008, both in the National Concert Hall.

It all began with incredible excitement back in 1958, and as the Society looks to the future and our next 50 years, it can still capture that excitement of opening night and delights in the appreciation of you, our audience.

Dublin-born Colman Pearce took an Honours Music Degree at UCD and won many awards as a pianist before studying conducting in Hilversum and Vienna. He was Co-Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra from 1977-1980 and Principal Conductor from 1981-1983. In the years 1984-1987 Maestro Pearce was Principal Guest Conductor of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in Spain. From 1987 to 1999, Colman was the Principal Conductor and Musical Director of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and in his final year was the recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in the state of Mississippi. He was also made a Freeman of the City of New Orleans.

Colman’s repertoire is vast, embracing not only symphonic works, but also many operas and oratorios. He has conducted important Irish, American and world première performances. His guest appearances as conductor have brought him to many cities on three continents and won him golden opinions from press, public and orchestras.

As a composer, his song cycle Summerfest (a commission from RTÉ) was given its world première with the composer at the piano in 1993; his work Robinson the Cat was premièred in the USA with great success in 1998. Anagram for Chamber Ensemble was given its first performance in 2000 in Pittsburgh, at Carnegie Mellon University, and King Cormac at Tara for tenor and chamber ensemble premièred in Pittsburgh in 2002. Recently, Rhapsody Maya for violin and piano received an IMRO composition award. In November 2003 in the USA, Colman conducted a concert of his compositions, including the Ballet The Little Room. This concert toured in the USA in early 2004, was repeated in Spring 2005 in Arkansas and again in Memphis, Tennessee in 2006.

For the Naxos label, Colman has recorded two operas by Leonardo Balada, released in 2002. Another CD devoted to Balada’s orchestral music, recorded with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, was released in 2004. For the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, he has recorded eight CDs of music by Irish composers. For ROS Productions (USA), Colman recorded The Memory is a Living Thing, on which is included some of his own original music.

Colman has been Music Director of The Glasnevin Musical Society since 1976 and is very proud of this long association. In November 2009, he was awarded a PhD by Dublin City University, for a thesis and original compositions.

• Chairman: Dolores O'Malley
• Hon. Secretary: Nikki Barry
• Hon. Treasurer: Emer Barry
• Committee Members: Gillian Barry, Caitriona Cosgrave, Caroline Earley, Antoinette Fennell, Aisling Kirwan, Laura Mitchell
• Hon. President: Margaret Barry
• Vice-Presidents: Victor Barry, Fintan P. Clancy, Dympna Hackett, Gerry Malone, Noreen Malone, Thomas D.A. Moore, Norma O'Mahony