Founded in 1986, Bray Choral Society is a successful choir performing a wide range of choral works from the Baroque Period to the 21 st Century. As well as two major concerts each year at Christmas and in May, the choir also makes guest appearances at other events including Charity Concerts and very successful ‘Come and Sing’ concerts.

“Our mission is to perform a wide range of choral works to the highest
standard, both for the social and cultural enrichment of our members and for
the enjoyment of the widest possible audience.”

There have been many highlight performances over the 35+ years of the choir’s history. Bray Choral Society sang many times at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, from Haydn’s Creation in 1992 to Jenkins’ The Armed Man; a Mass for Peace in 2008 and Wicklow County’s centenary celebrations of 1916 with a performance of Mary Gordon in 2016. The choir also sang at many Opera Gala concerts in the NCH over the years It participated in the Naxos recording of Verdi’s Aida after a performance in the Point Theatre in Dublin in 1994 and provided the offstage chorus for Lyric Opera’s production of Aida in 1999.

Bray Choral Society has collaborated with other choirs and orchestras over the years. In celebration of the millennium year and augmented by local choirs from around the county, BCS performed Verdi’s Requiem to great acclaim in both Bray and Arklow. This great work was performed again with Wicklow Choral Society joining forces with us in our 25th season in 2010. In 2013 we again collaborated with Wicklow Choral Society and the National Symphony
Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s mighty 9th Symphony in Greystones. In 2015 BCS joined forces with Wexford Sinfonia to perform Dvorak’s Stabat Mater in both Bray and Wexford. In 2016 we collaborated with other Wicklow based choirs and the National Symphony Orchestra in Mary Gordon; a new work commissioned by Wicklow County Council.

Bray Choral Society has had a keen interest in performing the works of contemporary composers over the years. The most recent was the Irish Premiere of Howard Goodall’s Invictus; a Passion performed in the presence of the composer in 2019 in Dublin and Bray. BCS has also performed works by John Rutter, Karl Jenkins, Richard Blackford, Ola Gjeilo, Morten Lauridsen and Dan Forrest.

Bray Choral Society, under the leadership of its founding musical director Frank Kelly has promoted and encouraged young Irish soloists and musicians over the years as well as working with many of Ireland’s top solo singers and orchestral players. Under Frank Kelly’s leadership, Bray Choral Society has been awarded the Bray Endeavour Award for Culture and the Arts on three occasions during its history.