13 November 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The Cork International Choral Festival are proud to present A Soulful Christmas fundraiser; with, the inimitable Soul and Gospel singer, Karen Underwood and band, along with the bedrock of Cork’s young singing ingénues Voiceworks Studio Group, bringing an eclectic evening of Gospel Songs, Hymns and many other Christmas favourites. This festive evening will have the Everyman Theatre a-glow with all things soulful this holiday season.
Karen Underwood is one of Ireland’s best kept musical secrets. In Cork, Karen is revered as one of the foremost talents in jazz, blues, and soul. The impeccable technique of Karen, together with musical director and arranger John O’Brien, lends a delicate and flawless finish to any evening of music.
Karen has written and performed four of her own shows which have toured across the country to critical and popular acclaim. She has played a host of Irish Venues including The Olympia, Vicar Street, The Gaiety, National Concert Hall to name but a few as well as a regular at festivals including Oxegen, Electric Picnic, Body and Soul, Black Box Festival of Fools and Cork Jazz Festival. She has appeared live on TV3, TG4 and been guest on numerous radio shows including Pat Kenny, Derek Mooney, Marty Whelan, Miriam O’Callaghan and John Creedon. Her two albums are ‘Ban the use of Jazz Music’ with Cartoon and her debut solo album ‘Live at the Everyman’ with John O’Brien.
John O’Brien is a pianist, conductor, director and composer based in Cork. He has worked on over forty different productions of opera and musical theatre in Ireland, Northern Ireland, London, Edinburgh, Montreal and Regina; and has toured with choirs across Europe, Japan and China. John is the former Music Director of Opera Works and the Cork Children’s Chorus. He has conducted a recording with the National Chamber Choir, and the TV programme Carols from Cork2005, both for RTÉ. His work in Cork has attracted national attention with his tours of Nina in Me with Karen Underwood along with winning an Irish Times Theatre Award for his production of Pagliacci along with several other nominations for other works.
Voiceworks Studio is a dedicated vocal tuition centre based in Cork city that welcomes singers of all ages, levels and styles. They specialise in training the individual singer and strive to always encourage artistry and creativity and have fast found themselves the leader in vocal training in Cork.
Make your Christmas a soulful one this year by booking now for this seasonal highlight; tickets, only €20, are on-sale now from Everyman Theatre, Cork on 0214501673 or www.everymancork.com
