Ensembles · Choir

Choir tours of Ireland and the UK

Sing in cathedrals and great halls, share music with Irish and UK choirs, and leave the planning to musicians who know what singers need.

Start planning your tour
Choir performing in a Gothic cathedral, the kind of setting a choir tour of Ireland and the UK is built around

What a choir tour with Upbeat looks like

A typical Upbeat choir tour runs for five to seven nights and visits two or three cities, with a concert in each. Choirs come to sing in buildings with a sound they can't find at home, so we plan around the acoustic: cathedrals, historic churches and halls, with time to rehearse in the space before you perform. Many choirs also build their tour around a choral festival in Limerick or Derry.

5 to 7

nights

2 to 3

cities, each with a concert

Cathedrals

and historic churches

From village churches to great cathedrals

There is nothing like hearing your choir fill a cathedral, and nothing like singing to a packed parish church in a small town where everyone has come out to listen. These are some of the places we plan choir concerts.

Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, one of the city's great cathedrals for a choir concert

Dublin

Christ Church Cathedral, St Patrick's Cathedral, National Concert Hall

Edinburgh Castle on its rock above the city, where visiting choirs can sing in the Old Town's cathedrals

Edinburgh

St Giles' Cathedral and St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral

The River Lagan in Belfast, where visiting choirs can perform at the riverside Waterfront Hall

Belfast

Waterfront Hall

Colourful village on the Irish coast, the kind of town where a visiting choir fills the parish church

Towns and villages

Parish churches and community centres, where the whole town comes to listen

Members of a Welsh male voice choir singing together, the kind of local choir a visiting choir can share a concert with

Sing with Irish and UK choirs

We pair visiting choirs with local singers from different traditions, so a concert becomes a real exchange. Your choir might share a programme with an Irish or Scottish choir, hear sean-nós singing from the Irish tradition, or join voices with a Welsh choir. Off stage, there is time to talk, sing together informally and make friends.

Your choir could sing alongside

Irish and Scottish choirs · Traditional singers · Welsh choirs

Workshops with leading choral conductors

Our team's years as performers and music educators open doors to choral conductors, vocal coaches and traditional singers across Ireland and the UK.

Choral score open on a music stand, as in a repertoire workshop with a leading choral conductor

Refresh your repertoire

Work on your own music with a leading choral conductor, and take home new ideas about sound, blend and phrasing.

Choir singing in a cathedral, as visiting singers do when they learn a song in Irish, Scots Gaelic or Welsh

Sing in Irish, Scots Gaelic or Welsh

Learn a song in one of the languages of these islands from a local singer, and perform it for a local audience.

Collage of Upbeat co-founders Keith Kelly and Gabby on their travels, at castles, historic sites, coastlines and concerts

Planned by singers and musicians

Upbeat's choir tours are planned by Gabby and Keith Kelly, working with the rest of the Upbeat team. Gabby is a trained soprano who studied opera and has performed with choirs in the USA and Ireland, so she knows what singers need from a venue, a warm-up and a schedule. Keith is a music educator and conductor, and one of the founders of the Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra. Between them, they know what a choir needs from a tour, because they have been on that stage themselves.

Meet the musicians behind Upbeat

Choral festivals

  • King John's Castle and the River Shannon in Limerick, home of the Limerick Sings choral festival

    Limerick Sings

    An international choral festival in Limerick each summer, bringing together choirs from Ireland and around the world.

  • The Peace Bridge and the city of Derry, home of the City of Derry International Choir Festival

    City of Derry International Choir Festival

    Choirs from around the world gather in Derry each autumn for concerts and competitions.

Where choirs tour

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[Director name], [choir name]

Choir tour questions

  • Very often, yes. Many cathedrals and historic churches welcome visiting choirs, either for a concert or to sing at a service. Availability depends on each building's own calendar, so we start asking as soon as your dates are set.

  • Yes. Ireland has two well-known international choral festivals, Limerick Sings and the City of Derry International Choir Festival. We can help you apply and build the rest of your tour around the festival.

  • Most venues have a piano or organ, and we'll confirm what's available before you travel. If your choir isn't bringing its own accompanist, we can help you find a local one.

  • Yes. We plan tours for school, collegiate and community choirs of all ages, and we match hotels, pace and venues to your group.

  • Spring and early summer suit many choirs, and the choral festivals run in early summer in Limerick and in autumn in Derry. Travelling outside peak summer also helps keep costs down.

Start planning your Upbeat tour today

Tell us about your group and where you'd like to perform. We'll shape the tour around your ensemble and handle the details, so you can focus on the music.

Start planning your tour