‘You just feel happy and all your sad thoughts are gone’ - Podcast

“You just feel happy and all your sad thoughts are gone,” says 10-year-old Orlaith Fitzpatrick about why she loves to sing.

She is a member of the Piccolo Lasso choir who joined Róisín Ingle for a mini Christmas carol service on this week’s Róisín Meets podcast.

The choir was founded twenty years ago by Ite O’Donovan - known to her students as Miss O’D - who made history by becoming the first female director of the Palestrina Choir at St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin in 1982.

Miss O’D said she started Piccolo Lasso and the Lassus Scholars in 1996 to offer children aged eight and up, “a cathedral choral education”.

“There are lots of choirs that sing well,” she said. “Cathedral choirs have always gone beyond that. They learn how to read music and become real musicians.”

12-year-old Nicholas O’Neill appreciates that, even though starting out in the choir he “hadn’t a clue about anything”.

“Over the course of the years though I got a good musical education,” he said. “Singing the different types of songs - at masses and carols at Christmastime - it’s really good.”

Rossa Ruadh loves to “get into the spirit of singing” with the choir, though he admitted that he had to “grow to love it”. His fellow singer, 12-year-old Síofra Delaney said making friends is a big part of being in Piccolo Lasso, as well as getting to sing “lots of nice songs”.

To hear the children of Piccolo Lasso sing Deck the Hall, Joy to the World and O Holy Night on the Róisín Meets podcast, go to iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or irishtimes.com

You can catch the Piccolo Lasso choir on December 18th at St Kevin’s Church, Harrington Street, SCR, Dublin 8, where they will also perform with a mini orchestra on Christmas day.