Donncha McDonagh – Baritone

2024 Bursary Award Recipient

Donncha McDonagh is a baritone and choral conductor from Dublin. He began full-time studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2023 with Dr Imelda Drumm, having grown up singing in Piccolo Lasso children’s choir under Dr Ite O’Donovan.

Donncha has sung with ensembles including Sestina in Belfast and the Charles Wood Singers in Armagh, and sings regularly with the cathedral choirs at Christ Church and St. Patrick’s in Dublin. He was a member of the inaugural Chamber Choir Ireland Studio in 2023-24 and will be a member of the Sixteen’s young artists programme, Genesis Sixteen, in 2024-25. In March 2024 Donncha was awarded the John McCormack Cup and the James Cuthbert Cup at the Feis Ceoil.

Donncha has been Conductor of Trinity College Dublin Chapel Choir since 2022, directing the choir at twice weekly services in Trinity Chapel, and on tour in the cathedrals of Monaco, Nice and Antwerp. In May 2024 he conducted the choir in a televised service on RTÉ One. Donncha was recently elected conductor of the Trinity Singers.

Join us at the Whyte Recital Hall on Saturday the 15th June to see Donncha McDonagh perform along with our other bursary award recipients. FREE ADMISSION.

Book here:

Emma Power – Mezzo Soprano

2024 Bursary Award Recipent

Emma Power is a mezzo-soprano hailing from Waterford. They have recently completed the Masters of Music Performance Program at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, studying with Dr Imelda Drumm and Dr Dearbhla Collins.

Emma received their BMus from MTU Cork in 2014 where they studied with Mary MacSweeney and Alan Cutts. Emma has worked as a soloist and ensemble member with Cork Operatic Society, Cór Cois Abhain, Comhar, Once Off Productions, Tonnta Music, Lassus, RIAM Opera and most recently the NSO.

They are a recipient of the Mezzo Solo cup, The Margaret Burke-Sheridan cup, the Mrs P.J Geoghegan Memorial Cup, The Lieder Prize and the Mahler Prize at the Feis Ceoil. Emma was featured in both the Irish Salon Opera recital and the Wilde in Music recital at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival recital series in June. Other upcoming performances include a concert performance of William Wallace’s uncovered opera, Lurline, at the NCH this July 26th. 

Join us at the Whyte Recital Hall on Saturday the 15th June to see Emma Power perform along with our other bursary award recipients. FREE ADMISSION.

Book here:

Eva Kavanagh – Soprano

Bursary Award Recipient 2024

At just 20 years old, Eva Kavanagh has already gained a significant number of achievements. Beginning with accolades like the RIAM High Achiever Award in 2024 and the title of ‘Carlow College of Music Student of the Year 2022’, Eva’s talent has shone brightly from the start of her vocal studies. Eva is currently studying vocal performance on the BMus at RIAM, under the tutelage of Kathleen Tynan and Dearbhla Collins. She was delighted to be awarded the Most Promising Performer at the 2023 RIAM Irene Sandford Award for Singers.

Eva has graced stages across Ireland, from performing as a special guest with The Celtic Tenors in April of 2023 to performing as a soloist at the St. Columbanus Festival in Bangor Abbey, Co. Down. Eva’s prowess as a vocalist has been recognised with wins at prestigious competitions like Feis Ceoil Dublin (Junior Vocal Recital, The Young Cup, Plunkett Greene Cup, Thomas Moore Cup, Marchant Cup), Feis Maitiu, Feis Sligigh, along with notable placements in others. Eva was a finalist in Feis Ceoil’s Gervase Elwes competition this year.  Eva was one of the finalists in this year’s Trench Award at the Birr Festival of Music. Eva was awarded the Canto Al Serchio Award.

Upon earning a scholarship in 2023 for the Daniel Ferro Program in Tuscany, Italy, Eva was enabled to have masterclasses with industry luminaries like Ira Siff (Metropolitan Opera, New York) and Mark Watson. Eva has been invited back to study at the Daniel Ferro Vocal Porgram on partial scholarship this summer for their 30th Anniversary. 

Other performance highlights include the Feis Ceoil Prizewinners Concert at the National Concert Hall 2023 and the role of Sadie Dowling in the world premier of Stephen McNeff’s Spirits Unsurrendered at Kilmainham Gaol in November 2023 for RIAM Opera. 

Join us at the Whyte Recital Hall on Saturday the 15th June to see Eva Kavanagh perform along with our other bursary award recipients. FREE ADMISSION.

Book here:

Annual Bursary Awards Concert

Come join us for a night of musical talent at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Witness the next generation of performers showcase their wonderful talents. It’s a night filled with performances of opera, classical repertoire, ballads, beautiful melodies and a guest performer. Don’t miss out on this special event celebrating the legacy of John McCormack!

Register for your FREE TICKETS here.

Ruby Boland – 2023 Bursary Recipient

During last year’s concert 19 year-old Ruby Boland delivered a stunning performance of Vivaldi’s ‘Sposa son disprezzata’. She was accompanied by Dearbhla Brosnan.

A Miscellany of Curiosities

On Saturday 11 May, the John McCormack Society’s guest speaker in Buswell’s Hotel at 11.00 a.m. is Jeremy Meehan from Cork. Jeremy, in collaboration with the legendary Ward Marston, was instrumental in delivering the digital restoration and resissuing of John McCormack’s Odeon, Electrical and radio broadcast recordings.

More information can be read here: https://www.marstonrecords.com/products/mccormack-patrician

Jeremy says:

“I’m delighted to be asked to present a programme for the Society. I’ve called my talk ‘A Miscellany of Curiosities’. I’ve tried to pick a wide range of pieces that each have some quirky aspect to them, and I hope there will be something for everyone.”

One piece, that will be familiar to any lover of opera, is the aria “Pour mon âme, quel destin!” from Donizetti’s La Figlia del Reggimento, with its spectacular High Cs, sung here by the tenor Juan Diego Florez.

John McCormack – Connections and Associations

Our next in-person talk will be held in Buswells Hotel, Dublin, on the 13th of April. It will start at 11am and all are welcome. This talk was planned for November 2023 but had to be postponed so we’re delighted that we’ve been able to reschedule it. It will offer a unique perspective on McCormack and his recording legacy.

David Kelly’s talk ‘John McCormack – Connections and Associations’ will explore the recordings the Irish tenor made of material from Tin Pan Alley and their later associations with some of the biggest crooners that followed, such as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. It promises to be a fascinating look at this popular song form.

Here’s John McCormack’s recording of Irving Berlin’s ‘All Alone’. The song would go on to be recorded by many artists.

Frank Sinatra recorded ‘All Alone’ in 1962. It is a very different interpretation to the recording made by John McCormack.

Singers of a Bygone Era

Our next talk takes place on Saturday the 9th of March in Buswells Hotel, Dublin. It commences at 11am and all are welcome.

David Clarke will take us on a journey that will span a diverse range of singers from the 1910’s to the 1930’s. A total of 16 recordings will be played that will feature artists such as Rosa Ponselle, Emmy Destinn, Claudia Muzio, Enrico Caruso, Feodor Chaliapin, Giovanni Martinelli, and Tito Schipa. Three of the recordings will also be by our own John McCormack. But you won’t be hearing his version of Macushla. The honour on the day will be bestowed on Heddle Nash. A prominent English tenor, he happened to share a birthday with John McCormack, though ten years younger than the Irish tenor.

One of the McCormack recordings to be played on the day is his interpretation of Tu Che a Dio Spiegasti L’ali (You who spread your wings to God) from Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Here’s the recording to give you a taster of what to expect.

John O’Carroll – Shared Memories and Recollections

Glena, Booterstown. John McCormack’s final home.

The Society’s next talk – Shared Memories and Recollections – will be presented by John O’Carroll, and will take place in Buswells Hotel, Dublin on the 10th February at 11am. All are welcome.

The talk will explore the theme of shared memories of John MacCormack, revealing our childhood & family experiences of the singer. What do people remember? What stories do they have to share? 

This will be a forum for collective audience participation and will be accompanied by a presentation that is illustrated with some favourite images, clips & songs.

Happy Christmas!

With Christmas upon us, we have to share John McCormack’s 1926 recording of Adeste Fideles. In the choir is a young Richard Crooks who went on to have a distinguished career as a lead tenor at the Metropolitan Opera. This is the second recording of the song that John recorded. An earlier version was made in 1915 during the acoustic era.

John McCormack recorded Silent Night in October 1940 at Abbey Road Studios. Although his voice is far from its peak, there is no diminution in John’s ability to communicate the words of a song. Arguably, this aspect of his art grew as he aged.

Happy Christmas to all our members and to all who love the music of John McCormack. We look forward to sharing a lot more stories and recordings in 2024.