Just six short weeks ago, a group of 20 or so employees from across the SSE Ireland group decided to form a workplace choir called, ‘The Airs’. The newly formed group began their journey in early May, with the goal of making it into the 2013 Workplace Choir of the Year final.
Following a number of practice sessions and a bit of fine tuning, The Airs were selected as one of eight choirs from different workplaces across Ireland to sing in the final of the inaugural RTE Lyric FM Workplace Choir of the Year Competition at the RDS last Sunday (30th June).
The Airs journey had its ups and down along the way, when, with only one week to go until the final, they lost their conductor. Fortunately, esteemed conductor, Ruaidhri O’Dalaigh, stepped in with 5 days until the final, squeezing in two practice sessions before taking to the stage at Dublin’s RDS Theatre.
The evening was a real spectacle for everyone involved. The Airs were the 2nd group on stage, in what was described as “one of the most nervous but exciting moments of my life” by Airs vocalist, Carol Somers. The recently formed group opened with “Run” by Snow Patrol and concluded their performance with “Together in Electric Dreams’ by Phil Oakley.
Unfortunately, the Airs only just missed out on top spot, which was awarded to the well establish Tallaght Hospital Choir. None the less, the achievements of this young group in six short weeks were recognised, when the RDS crowd gave the loudest round of applause of the evening following their performance.
The Airs singer and SSE Renewables Project Manager, Jennifer Geraghty commented: “In the last few weeks people have seen how an initiative like this can really embody the spirit of great place to work. There is a palpable buzz at rehearsals and people have noted that it brings a pep to your step in work as well. Best of all, the choir has meant the forging of new friendships across the business units in a unique way.”
Having been successful in the Workplace Choir of the Year, the Airs are looking forward to establishing an ongoing choir, which is set to grow in size and they have a number of creative ideas and plans for how they can develop – watch this space to see where it may take them!