User:Zulmar Jofli dos Santos Junior/Gardiner Street Gospel Choir

The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir
 The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir  is one of the most famous Irish choirs. Based in the Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier Church on Gardiner Street in Dublin, Ireland, about 15 min walk from O'Connell Street in City Centre. This volunteer team has been performing from September to June on every Sunday mass at 7.30pm as well as many others stages in all Ireland for over 10 years.

History
The choir was founded by Kevin Kelly in the year 2000 to be the first weekly Gospel Mass in Dublin and the very first meeting of choir was on 22 March 2000. The choir, accompanied by a Gospel Band, is composed of young people, mostly in their twenties. Some are rock, jazz and classical musicians. Several are professionally trained. The choir was originally conducted by the brainchild of its musical director, Kevin Kelly and now it has been running by Aidan Green. The original nucleus of the choir and band were former fellow-music students of Kevin’s at Trinity College, Dublin.

Appropriately enough, the gospel choir includes among its members, people from nearby and elsewhere who have strong family links with Gardiner Street. They also reflect Dublin as it is today, coming from diverse backgrounds in Ireland and elsewhere. The first Gardiner Street Gospel Choir Mass took place on 7 May, 2000 with two keyboards and sixteen singers - twelve female and four male. The emphasis of the mass is to gather people together and let them discuss, contemplate and rejoice and to be able to ask questions about their lives, faith and love.

The mass has attracted media attention because it fills the church every week with young people from the city and outlying suburbs, attracted by the choir’s outstanding performances and the thoughtfully adapted liturgy.

The Choir
Choir includes not only voices, but a full range of instruments: Keyboard, Electric Guitar, Bass, Drum,etc. The energy and spirit which exudes from their performances is truly amazing. Every Sunday over 40 people take the time out of their own lives to worship, sing and rejoice as part of the choir and band, a group of truly inspirational people whose love of music and each other helps to make the Gardiner Street Gospel Choir mass what it is. A show case of traditional gospel, contemporary, joyful & uplifting music, with everything from U2 to Macy Gray, Bob Marley to Jewel, traditional gospel to new twists on old classics.

Over the years, the choir and band have played in various venues ranging from schools for disabled children, prisons, charity events, and large scale concerts as well as the weekly mass in Gardiner Street. Performances are featured for exult energy, joy and peaceful feelings. Some highlights of the last few years have been performances at Dublin City Soul Festival where they shared the stage with US soul giants the The Rance Allen Group, Irish Aid's Africa Day where they collaborated with Kíla, at the women’s prison, the Dóchas Centre, which was recorded and broadcast on RTÉ Radio, and for The Dublin Docklands Authority for the lighting of their Christmas tree. In 2009 they recorded with Luka Bloom & Juliet Turner.

Recordings & Prizes
In 2002,Gardiner Street Gospel Choir launched its CD, One Love, marked its growing success. This has also been reflected in radio and television appearances. .The choir’s CD, One Love, was recorded live at Concert in the O’Reilly Hall, Belvedere College, Dublin.Twice Since its foundation, the choir has won the top Gospel Choir prize at the annual Festival of the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS). In 2003, Luka Bloom became the first well-known solo artist to perform with the choir.