Organisers of the Sligo International Choral Festival expect less drama and more memorable singing at this weekend's event after last year's disappearance of a Romanian choir.
Then, the highly organised Romanians, who had submitted photographs, sheet music and recordings, turned out to be bogus. After securing entry into the State on the basis of their vocal talents, they opted not to go to Sligo which would have put them to the test.
A festival organiser said "discreet checks" were made with a number of embassies this year and all were found to be genuine. Choirs from Eastern Europe have been coming to the Sligo festival for many years and last year's episode came as a bit of a shock, even if it did provide unprecedented publicity for the event.
In addition to 30 Irish choirs, nine foreign choirs are taking part this year, including the St Petersburg Choir, two from the Czech Republic and one from Poland. The festival started last night with a concert entitled A Feast of Sligo Talent, with all of the town's best-known singers and instrumentalists.
Competitions start tonight in the Hawk's Well theatre with the barbershop and folksong categories. Competitors include one of Britain's leading barbershop choruses, Shannon Express, which won the BBC Choir of the Year competition.
Tomorrow, the madrigal and church music categories will be held in Summerhill College and the impressive setting of St John's Church of Ireland. The international competition starts at 8 p.m. All events are open to the public and for those who don't make it to any of the competitions, the foreign choirs will sing at church services on Sunday morning.
More than 1,000 singers will be taking part in the festival and it is estimated the event will bring about 4,000 people to Sligo for the weekend.
Sligo has a strong choral tradition, but to ensure that the next generation is also catered for, this year sees the start of a Young Musician of the Future competition. Four finalists have been selected, two of them singers, and the winner will be chosen over the weekend. The festival closes with an international cabaret on Sunday night.
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