Short Story About Us
Wexford Festival Singers is a classical music mixed-voice choir. We sing a range of music from the major classical works to contemporary pieces and perform a number of concerts each year.
Members hail from the counties of Wexford, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wicklow and include singers of all ages, backgrounds, occupations and personal interests. We share a common bond – a love of music and the desire to share it with the community.
HISTORY
Wexford Festival Singers (WFS) was established in 1975 and since its foundation up to recent years the choir has sung in almost every Wexford Festival Opera. WFS has performed many of the great works in the choral repertoire including the Requiems of Brahms, Cherubini and Fauré, Rossini’s and Dvorák’s Stabat Mater and Stravinsky’s Les Noces.
MUSIC DIRECTOR Anthony Norton
Anthony Norton is taking on the role of Musical Director at the Wexford Festival Chorus. Anthony is delighted to be continuing the tradition of excellence established by previous conductors and singers over the past 50 years and is looking forward to performing beautiful and challenging choral repertoire with one of Ireland’s leading choral societies.
He is a globally acclaimed vocal coach, conductor, and music educator celebrated for his transformative approach that seamlessly integrates vocal technique and performance practice. With a distinguished career that includes performances and collaborations on some of the world’s most iconic stages—The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala Milan, Carnegie Hall, and Broadway—Anthony has earned a reputation as a leading figure in vocal pedagogy and artistic development.
Anthony currently serves as the vocal coach for the National Symphony Chorus of Ireland, Musical Director of Nas Na Ri Singers and is a faculty member of the Musical Theatre degree programme at American College Dublin. His dedication to nurturing the next generation of performers is evident in his dynamic workshops and masterclasses, which have inspired choirs, ensembles, and students across Ireland and internationally. Renowned for his ability to bridge the technical and the transformative, Anthony’s methodology empowers singers to connect with their voices on every level. By blending technical excellence with emotional depth and artistic authenticity, he enables performers to unlock their full potential. Whether working with seasoned professionals or aspiring artists, his holistic approach fosters confidence, creativity, and a profound connection to performance.
TIMELINE AND HIGHLIGHTS
2025
WFS' 50th anniversary year
Mozart
Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339
Coronation Mass KV 317
Brahms
Ein Deutsches Requiem
2024
Haydn
Wexford Festival Singers performed Haydn's Seven last words of Christ on the cross in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
Bach
Wexford Festival Singers performed Bach's Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
2023
Cherubini
Wexford Festival Singers performed Cherubini's Requiem in C minor in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
2022
Handel
Wexford Festival Singers performed Handel's Messiah Parts 1 & 3 in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
2020 - 2021
Due to the worldwide pandemic, no concert performances took place between 2020 and 2021.
2019
Haydn
Wexford Festival Singers performed Haydn's The Creation in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
2018
Forrest
Wexford Festival Singers Dan Forrest's Jubilate Deo in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
2017
Gounod and Mendelssohn
Wexford Festival Singers performed Gounod's Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cecile and Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion in Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town
2016
A Nation’s Voice
Wexford Festival Singers participated in an official event, part of the State’s commemoration of the events of 1916, at Collins Barracks, Dublin on Easter Sunday 2016 when they joined with adult and childrens’ choirs to perform the premier of a specially commissioned work by Shaun Davey and Paul Muldoon, One Hundred Years a Nation. The programme also included a performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.
The work “One Hundred Years a Nation” was composed for the centenary event and features a narrator , massed choirs and orchestra. On this occasion , the choir was accompanied by the RTE National Symphony Orchestra and the performance was televised live on RTE.
Wexford Proms
Wexford Festival Singers and Wexford Sinfonia with conductor Fergus Sheil presented the Wexford Proms 2106 at the National Opera House , High Street , Wexford on Saturday 6th February .
Featuring the most beloved operatic songs and choruses of Puccini, Rossini and Verdi, the programme showcased the voice of four outstanding soloists, Rachel Croash, soprano, Kate Allen, mezzo, Jonathan Stoughton, tenor and Gavin Ring, Baritone.
2015
Dvorak Mass in D Major
Wexford Festival Singers performed Dvorak Mass in D Major at Rowe Street Church in Wexford Town on the 1st November 2015.
2013
Verdi’s Requiem
Performance of Verdi’s Requiem at The Wexford Opera House with Gorey and Enniscorthy Choral Societies, Vocare and the Wexford Sinfonia under the Baton of Fergus Sheil to a sell out Opera House and standing ovation.
Winner at Gorey Choral competition
2012
Choral Odyssey
A musical journey comprising works by Handel, Bach, Wagner, Mozart, Schubert, Hayden, Jenkins, Mendlessohn, Robertson, Strauss and Lauridsen.
2011
Fauré Requiem
Fauré Requiem and Vasks Dona Nobis Pacem at Rowe St Church, Wexford.
2008
Orff Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana by Carl Orff in the 2008 Opera Festival.
2007
Haydn The Creation
Wexford Opera Haydn’s oratorio, The Creation.
2006
Cinema Choral Classics
The choir joined the National Philharmonic Choir and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in the National Concert Hall for a Lyric FM concert of cinema choral classics ranging from Amadeus to The Lion King.
Jenkins The Armed Man
The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins with Madrigallery (Waterford) and the Orchestra of St. Cecilia.
2005
A Child of our Time
Wexford Opera Festival – A Child of Our Time (Festival 2005).
2004
Gounod, Puccini and Rossini
Gounod’s Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile, Puccini’s Messe di Gloria (both with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Festival 2004) and Tippett’s oratorio.
OUR REPERTOIRE
Our repertoire includes the following plus many more!
- Bach, J.S. Magnificat in D Major, Uns ist ein Kind Geboren, St. Matthew Passion, Jesu, Meine Freude
- Beethoven Mass in C, Symphony No.9, Choral Fantasie
- Bellini Mass in D
- Brahms A German Requiem, Schicksalslied
- Bruckner Te Deum
- Charpentier Messe de Minuit
- Cherubini Requiem in C minor
- Cutts The Windhover
- Duruflé Requiem
- Dvorák Te Deum, Stabat Mater
- Elgar Dream of Gerontius
- Fauré Requiem
- Furlong Mass of Thanksgiving
- Gounod Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile
- Handel L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Messiah, Zadok The Priest
- Haydn Nelson Mass, Te Deum, Harmoniemesse, Paukenmesse, The Creation, The Seasons
- Jenkins The Armed Man
- Monteverdi Beatus Vir
- Mozart Coronation Mass, Requiem, Mass in C minor, Laudate Dominum
- Orff Carmina Burana
- Perosi Transitus Animae, Il Natale del Redentore
- Poulenc Gloria
- Puccini Messe di Gloria
- Rossini Stabat Mater, Petite Messe Solennelle
- Rutter Sprig of Thyme
- Schubert Mass in A Flat, Mass in E Flat, Stabat Mater (D.383)
- Stravinsky Les Noces
- Verdi Four Sacred Pieces, Requiem
- Vivaldi Gloria
