The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, Solstice Ensemble & Desmond Earley
Biography The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, Solstice Ensemble & Desmond Earley
The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin
Directed by Desmond Earley, the Choral Scholars of University College Dublin are internationally renowned for their stunning performances, artistic collaborations, recordings, video productions, and innovative commissioning projects. With a classical focus and inspiration drawn from the music and literature of Ireland, the Choral Scholars continue to reimagine Irish songs, making a significant contribution to the modern choral oeuvre. BBC Music Magazine has praised the ensemble for its ‘glowing tonal blend,’ referring to their performances as ‘a constant pleasure.’ As global ambassadors for Ireland, the ensemble has reached audiences in more than 150 countries through critically acclaimed album recordings on Signum Classics, including Invisible Stars (2015), Perpetual Twilight (2019), and Be All Merry (2020) with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
In 2023, the Choral Scholars earned a coveted YouTube Silver Creator Award, celebrating an impressive number of subscribers and over 32,000,000 views of their music videos.
Notable appearances by the Choral Scholars include a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall in New York (USA) and a televised performance on CBS Sunday Morning to over 6,500,000 viewers.
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising in Ireland, the ensemble was featured on the RTÉ live television production, Centenary.
“Blending ‘folk’ voices with choral precision and tight harmony isn’t easy, but Desmond Earley [...] doesn’t put a foot wrong.” - Choir and Organ Magazine.
The choir frequently collaborates with leading instrumentalists and orchestras such as the European Union Chamber Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and Irish Chamber Orchestra.
In touring the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, the group has brought University College Dublin and Ireland’s music to an international audience.
With this Volume I commissioning project, Desmond Earley and the Choral Scholars are fulfilling a dream long-held by James Joyce to have the 36 poems of Joyce’s Chamber Music collection (1907) set to music. Production now begins on Volume II of this two-part album collection.
Desmond Earley
Hailed by The Irish Times as ‘enterprising and wide-ranging’, Desmond Earley, Artistic Director of the Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, has established a reputation as one of Ireland's foremost choral directors and early-keyboard specialists.
Desmond is a lecturer in Performance Studies at University College Dublin (UCD) and serves as rotating Artistic Director of the UCD Ad Astra Academy. In 2017-2018 he was Visiting Scholar at Lewis & Clark College, Oregon (USA) and Guest Conductor/Scholar at Bowdoin College, Maine (USA).
As a concert instrumentalist and director, Desmond works with many of the world's finest orchestras including the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra and English Chamber Orchestra. Desmond has also collaborated with some of the world's great musicians including Sir James Galway, Roy Goodman, Christopher Hogwood, Monica Huggett, and Konrad Junghaenel.
As a celebrated composer and arranger, Desmond has published works with Music Sales (UK), Hal Leonard Corporation (USA), Alliance Music (USA) and with Seolta Music (IRL) where he serves as editor of the international ‘College Choral Series’.
His acclaimed work Body of the Moon (2017) based on a setting of texts by Galileo Galilei, was commissioned by All Classical Portland Radio (USA) for the total solar eclipse across the United States of America. He has created special arrangements for renowned ensembles including the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Portland Symphony Orchestra (Maine, USA), Tenebrae (UK), and the Irish Baroque Orchestra.
