The Cork International Choral Festival, which gets underway today, has secured major sponsorship from Bord Gais, which has its headquarters in Cork, writes Michael Dervan. The opening concert, of Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah, brings the RTE Philharmonic Choir and the RTECO under Proinnsias O Duinn to the City Hall. The festival programme features choirs from 17 countries. Groups from Austria, Croatia, England, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden will take part in the international competition, and choirs from Austria, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and England will be performing non-competitively. The festival has commissioned works for its Seminar on Contemporary Choral Music from Peter Dickinson, Vic Nees and Patrick Zuk. The choir performing the commissioned works will be Brian O Dubhghaill's Cantairi Oga Atha Cliath. Tel: 021-308308.

The Music Network has at last published its long-promised Directory of Musicians in Ireland (£25). Edited by Michelle Hoctor, this hefty volume lists details of 1,600 Irish musicians, north and south, at home and abroad. Entries are classified under Classical, Traditional, Jazz and Other, and, alongside the relevant contact details, space has been found for information on recent performances and broadcasts, prizes, awards and appointments, as well as training and qualifications; there's even room for quotes from reviews, a large proportion of which originated on this page. The directory is available from Music Network at 01-671 9429.