Incantato Performance Venue: Auditorium of the Colégio do Espírito Santo, Central Évora University.

The Occidental College Glee Club, under the direction of Désirée La Vertu, will perform in the University Auditorium on January 16th, at 8 pm, in a Joint Concert with TAUE - Tuna Académica da Universidade de Évora, as a finale for the music exchange.

The University of Évora is one of the buildings most visited by tourists from around the world flocking to the city. The University of Évora, the second oldest in Portugal, was founded in the 16th century (1559) by Cardinal Infante Dom Henrique (the future king of Portugal), and by the Pope Paul IV, and it was delivered to the Society of Jesus.

The Colégio do Espírito Santo, (College of the Holy Spirit) is the core of the University of Évora and appears today in the same format in which it was conceived and executed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, housing the Rectorate, many Departments as well as many college classrooms and units.

Its monumental and artistic ensemble includes the Renaissance Cloister, with harmonious double galleries in Tuscan order; the Refectory (sixteenth century); the Chapel of Nossa S.ª da Conceição (1641); the Old Library, with a painted ceiling fresco (1708), and a magnificent collecion of ashlars and paintings along the Johannine Classes (1744-49)

The Tuna Académica da Universidade de Évora, TAUE, is a traditional ensemble that has became one of the main vehicles to publicize the good name of the University of Évora and the true spirit of the University and its students.

Occidental College Glee Club is featured choir at the Basilica de Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder, Sevilla.

Occidental College Glee Club will be singing Mass on Tuesday 14th January at the Basilica of Our Father Jesus del Gran Poder, a very beloved temple in Sevilla.

The temple was consecrated as a Minor Basilica in 1993 and only two years later, in 1995, was awarded the Gold Medal of Sevilla, being the only image of Christ that holds such recognition.

The second Basilica in the city, this basilica is home of the Brotherhood Hermandad de Nazarenos de Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder y Mª Santísima del Mayor Dolor y Traspaso, (brotherhood of Our Father Jesus Nazarene of Great Power and Blessed Maria of Suffering and Traspass), was founded in 1431 with founds from the powerful Duke of Medina Sidonia.

This brotherhood procession takes place at dawn on Easter Friday, and it's followed by thousands of penintentes. For the processions, the Pasos (steps) are carried by the brotherhood members, called costaleros, a tradition that honours them deeply and has its roots in the. The pasos, carrying the very sculptures, very enriched and ornated, can weight all together up to 2,500 kg ( 5,500 punds), and each costalero can be holding a weight up to 100 kg (220 pounds). The processions are held in silence, just broken by the saetas singing -  a very flamenco song singed from soul and faith.

The brotherhood was located in different places until in 1703 he moved to the Church of San Lorenzo , which was its usual venue until the construction of the current basilica.

The new temple was completed in 1965, although the first consagration took place the following year.

The building features Sevillian baroque architecture on the outside, and inside forms a central plant, similar in structure to that of the Pantheon in Rome. The temple itself is a large circular area covered by a very hemispherical dome decorated with moldings, with a large central oculus illuminates the entire temple.

We can admire in this temple the image of Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder (our Father Jesus of the Great Power) , to be dressed effigy , carved by Juan de Mesa in 1620. 

We can see another sculpture of San Juan Evangelista also made ​​by Juan de Mesa , considered the best sculpture of the saint of the whole city .

Alongside, the image of Mª Santísima del Mayor Dolor y Traspaso is venerated: a Sevilian anonymous work of 1798 . 

The Cesta del Gran Poder (Great Power Cage) is very interesting, being the only survivor in the city from the XVII century, and was carved by Francisco Antonio Gijón. 

Incantato Performance Venue: Auditorium of the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Córdoba.

As a great finale for their Exchange program with the Coro del Conservatorio Superior de Música de Córdoba "Rafael Orozco", both choirs will perform a Joint Concert in a wonderful venue: the Auditorium of the new headquarters of the Conservatorio Profesional de Córdoba.

Inaugurated in 2011, the new building of the Conservatorio hosts the most modern equipment of all of Spain's conservatories.
The government has paid over 7 million Euros for the building, measuring over 7000 sq. meters, including 51 individual instrument classrooms, 24 individual study carrels, a choir classroom, drums classroom, orchestra classroom, four music classrooms, a library, a sound library,... and of course the administrative offices.
The Conservatory has some 1212 students this year: 546 in elementary music levels and 666 in middle music levels. The number of teachers: 122 professionals are in charge of the teaching.

The new auditorium is also impressive: a whole year non-stop Concerts Programme is hosted by this reknown hall. The 296 seats and its very good acoustic will make a warm and brilliant concert.
A wonderful end to the Spanish part of the Occidental College Glee Club Performance Tour to Spain & Portugal.
For more information, you can visit the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Córdoba "Músico Ziryab" webpage

Performance venue: Palácio Foz, Lisbon.

The magnificent Palácio Foz, in Lisbon, will be host the final concert of the 2014 Occidental College Glee Club Performance Tour to Spain and Portugal, on Friday 17th January, at 6 pm.

The neo-classical Palácio Foz, originally called Palácio Castelo Melhor, was designed by the Italian architect Francesco Saviero (or Francisco Xavier) Fabri, and built shortly after the great earthquake in 1755, for the Marquês de Castelo Melhor. 

Mirror Hall for concerts

It was purchased by the Marquês de Foz in 1886 when it received the first of many facelifts.

It is magnificently decorated internally and the ballroom features outstanding paintings by Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, (1857-1929), one of the leading painters of his generation and a master of realism in Portugal. 

It now houses 11 different institutional offices, and a very rich Cultural Program at the concert hall Sala dos Espelhos (Mirror Hall). Among the institutions there is an Art and Cinema Museum, a Lisbon’s Tourist Information centre and important cultural gobernment and private entities.

Performance venue: San Jerónimo Church, Madrid.

The Occidental College Glee Club, under the direction of Désirée La Vertu, will sing Main Mass at the Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo el Real Church, in Madrid, on Sunday January 12, at 1pm.

The Iglesia Parroquial de San Jerónimo el Real  belongs to the Royal Monastery of St Jerome, founded in Madrid in 1503 during the time of Queen Isabella I, and popularly known as "Los Jerónimos.". 

During 300 years, San Jeronimo was the official Royal Church of the Spanish Crown. From 1528 to 1833 the monastery was the site of the investiture of the Prince of Asturias, the heir to the Spanish throne. 

The impressive stairway leading to the entrance was constructed in 1906 for the wedding of King Alfonso XIII, and the present King of Spain, Juan Carlos I was proclaimed King in the church in 1975.

The church itself is an impressive sight next to the Prado Museum. It also contains its share of art treasures, including works by Benlliure, Carducho and José Méndez and Juan de Mena's Cristo de la Buena Muerte.

This temple has undergone many alterations and refurbishments over the years, from the original Isabelline gothic and soon reached reinassance, to the most contemporary tendences on the 21st century.

The renaissance-style cloister, originally built in the 16th century, was replaced a century later by one in Baroque style, by Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás. This is the cloister which survived sufficiently to be included in the recent extension to the Museo del Prado. 

The cloister was dismantled and removed stone by stone to be incorporated into the Prado museum's new extension, leaded by the famous architect Rafael Moneo. A total of 2,820 stones were removed and carefully documented and catalogued before being taken for restoration in studios in Alcalá de Henares. 

The stones of the cloister were then replaced in almost exactly their original position and enclosed with a concrete skin, to make it an integral part of the Prado extension. 

Occidental Glee Club sings at St. Patrick's in Dublin

Finale Highlight Concert: The Occidental College Glee Club performs at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin today (May 25) at 1 PM

To finalize this amazing tour, Occidental College Glee Club under the direction of Desiree LaVertu will be participating in a lunch time recital at the beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the largest church in Ireland, today, May 25, at 1 pm.

Built in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral stands adjacent to the famous well where tradition has it Saint Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin. A church was built on this site in 1191 and in 1991 they celebrated 800 years of worship. The present building dates from 1220 and during the years it had been extended again and again.
The Cathedral is today the National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland (Anglican). The basis of the present building was built between 1191 and 1270, though little now remains of the earliest work beyond the Baptistry. Much of the work was overseen by Henry of London, a friend of the King of England and signatory of the Magna Carta, who was also involved in the construction of Dublin's city walls and Dublin Castle. The tower (Minot's Tower) and west nave were rebuilt between 1362 and 1370, following a fire. In 1560, one of Dublin's first public clocks was erected in "St. Patrick's Steeple".
Throughout its long history the cathedral has contributed much to Irish life, and one key aspect of this relates to the writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. Swift took a great interest in the building, its services and music and in what would now be called social welfare, funding an almshouse for poor women and Saint Patrick's Hospital.
The Choir School, which had been founded in 1432, supplied many of its members to take part in the very first performance of Handel's Messiah in 1742. It continues and although originally all-male, now also admits girls; a Cathedral Girls' Choir was founded in 2000 and sings once or twice a week. The Organ of St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of the largest in Ireland with over 4,000 pipes. Parts of it date from a Renatus Harris instrument of 1695. It was restored in the 1890s and in 1963.

Great success for the Occidental College Glee Club at St. Augustine’s Church in Cork

The Occidental College Glee Club inspired their audience today at St. Augustine’s Church in Cork. Every seat in the church was taken, over 200 people attended the concert! Now it's time for the final destination of the Incantato Ireland Performance Tour: Dublin! The travelers of the Occidental College Glee Club will go there tomorrow morning. We wish them a save trip!

The Occidental College Glee Club sings at St. Augustine’s Church, Cork, today (May 24) at 8 PM

St. Augustine’s Church in Cork is today's venue for the Occidental College Glee Club at 8 pm. The Augustinians, the Order of St. Augustine, owe their origins to Saint Augustine (354-430 AD), from Hippo in Algeria, who inspired men and women to live in religious communities.
By the 13th century many different Augustinian communities existed and in 1256 Pope Alexander IV created the Grand Union of all existing Augustinian Congregations to form what we know today as the Order of St. Augustine.
The Order of St. Augustine came to Cork some time between 1270 and 1300. As the Augustinian historian, Fr. Thomas C. Butler OSA writes: "If we take 1272 as a date of petition for approval to open a foundation in Cork, it would have taken some years for the planning and building so we can safely assume that the latter took place between 1275 and 1285.
The Priory was dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, but was recorded on ancient maps as St. Austin's 1545 and St. Augustine's 1610. Later still it became known as the "Red Abbey" because of the red sandstone used in the church. The Towers were added after the middle of the 14th century.
The Red Abbey was raided in 1630, but the friars, forewarned, had fled. This was a short lived closure and the friars were back again, until 1644 when all priests and friars were expelled from the city, and the Red Abbey was taken over by the protestant Dean of Cork, Richard Boyle.Lady Fanshawe leased the Red Abbey, but had to leave when Cromwell came in 1649, and stabled his horses in the building.
Returns on the State of Popery for 1766 give "a friary - Augustinian - in Fishamble Lane. It was located where a side entrance leads into the Franciscan church. Formerly Mill St, the site of the church is shown on De Rocque's map of 1759.
In 1776 the friars were living in an old tottering house, with an old tottering chapel nearby. They started to look for a suitable site and ran into difficulty with the bishop of Cork. The friary in Fishamble Lane was in the parish of St. Finbar's, and the new site was in SS Peter and Paul's.In 1778 the Augustinians chose a site on Brunswick St, at the time within the South Parish. Again the Bishop objected, but the Augustinians decided to go ahead with a chapel and dwelling in Brunswick St. now known as St. Augustine's Lane. The community was suspended by the Bishop. The case was taken to Rome.
A decision was given in favour of the friars, with a command to the bishop to bless and open the church when completed. The first stone was laid on November 27th 1780. The Bishop complied with the mandate from the Holy See, and he blessed the new church on June 4th 1781, and he restored the Prior and community to the jurisdiction of the diocese.
The church was extended in 1872 and the Priory built on Washington St, known then as Great George St. The present church structure was built in 1942 and furthered extended in 1972. The Priory was rebuilt in 1982.

The Occidental College Glee Club performs at the Danny Mann Pub in Killarney on May 22 at 7 PM

Today, Saturday, May 22, at 7 pm the Danny Mann Pub in Killarney will turn into a performance venue for the travelers of the Occidental College Glee Club under the direction of Desiree LaVertu. Incantato Tours proudly presents this very special and traditional venue:
The Danny Mann is a hotel pub that is renowned as one of the best centers for Irish music, singing and dancing in all of Killarney. Here you will find locals and visitors alike joining with the band to sing together. The Danny Mann Pub has brought traditional Irish music and good times to Killarney for over 70 years.

The Occidental College Glee Club sings at St. Mary’s Church of Ireland - today, May 21 at 8 PM

St. Mary’s Church of Ireland is the Occidental College Glee Club venue today, Friday, May 21 at 8 pm:

St. Mary’s Church of Ireland in Killarney is a Roman Catholic cathedral in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. The diocese of Kerry, or Ardfert and Ahadoe as it is sometimes called, was ruled by vicars apostolic from the mid-16th century until the early 18th century, with the exception of a brief few years in the 1640s. The 18th century Bishops of Kerry resided at Dingle, Kilcummin, Tuogh, Listowel and Tralee, from 1720 until 1775. In the latter years Bishop Francis Moylan (1775-87) established the see at Killarney.
Before the construction of Killarney cathedral there was a small chapel in Chapel Lane, of which the font survives in the baptistery of the present cathedral. The idea of building a cathedral was started by Fr. Joseph O'Sullivan, curate of Dingle, who roused the enthusiasm of Bishop Cornelius Egan (1824-1856) and the 2nd Earl of Kenmare (1788-1853), a local Catholic landowner.

Occidental College Glee Club will meet some new friends tonight, May 20

Tonight, May 20, the Occidental College Glee Club will meet some new friends! At the Incantato Galway concert venue, the Franciscan Abbey, they are going to perform together with the Galway Gospel Choir and the Choriaaros from Norway.

Here is what the Choriaaros tell about themselves:
"Aaros is a small village in the kommune of Røyken. Røyken lies about 40 kilometres west of Oslo. Choriaaros means choir in Aaros – which is what we are! We are a mixed choir with about 35 members. Our ages range from 27 years old to 70 years old – two thirds women and one third men! Of course we all love singing together but we also have a lot of fun together. Most of our members have been in the choir for many years, some since the choir started in 1993. We practise every Tuesday from 18.50 to 21.30 at the local school. In addition to our weekly practises we have two seminars every year where we invite a song pedagogue to instruct us.
We have a wide repertoire and enjoy singing a variety of songs, from musicals and pop to classical and folk music. Our choir enjoys working towards a goal, be it a Christmas concert or a bigger venture like a musical. Choriaaros has performed two musicals in the nearby town of Drammen – Les Miserable’s in 1999 and Fiddler on the Roof in 2004. We have also had exciting ventures such as a New Years concert with a local symphony orchestra and another choir, and a carol concert with a local brass band. Most of our concerts are performed locally and we often use the local churches or the village hall as venues. The annual Christmas concert in the old wooden church in Aaros has become a tradition. In 2008 our choirmaster of many years left us. In his place came Ragnar Elverhoey, a former member of the choir. Ragnar’s laid back attitude, sense of humour and enthusiasm has given the choir a new lease of life. At the moment we are rehearsing for a Gershwin concert that is planned for October 2010. Needless to say the syncopated rhythms and the fast Americans lyrics are a challenge, but with Ragnar at the helm we are going to give it a go!"
For more information, visit their website (IN NORWEGIAN).

The Galway Gospel Choir is composed of at least 60 vocalists of varying occupation and background from in and around Galway, Ireland. The choir was formed in 2001 and has slowly grown to be recognized in Ireland. Click here to go to their website.

Exchange concert tonight, May 20, at the Franciscan Abbey in Galway

The travellers of the Occidental College Glee Club are getting ready for their exchange concert in Galyway tonight at 7.30 pm:
The Franciscan Abbey was founded in 1296. In 1483 a school of advanced theology was instituted there. About 40 years later, Maurice O Fihely, archbishop of Tuam, was buried in the church. 1657 the friary was destroyed and the church was made into a court house (the present court house stands on the same site). In 1660 a church was erected on the present site. The only novitiate of which they have definite information was opened here in 1774. The church was rebuilt in 1781 and around 1836 the present chuch was opened; present friary was built or rebuilt in 1820, and renovated recently. The organ of the Abbey, Galway, is placed in the gallery at the back of the church, and is divided between two cases to avoid obscuring a large stained-glass window in the centre. The swell and pedal divisions are located in the left case (as seen from the church, facing the back) and the great in the right. The console is beside the left case, and faces sideways across the rather narrow gallery. The instrument has a pleasant, sweet sound with good definition and a fast, ready response from the action. The picture is from the official website of the Irish Franciscans.

Occidental Glee Club starts their Ireland Tour with a concert at the Gothic Church at Kylemore Abbey today, May 20

Today, May 20, the Occidental College Glee Club under the direction of Desiree LaVertu travels to Kylemore Abbey and presents the first formal concert of their Incantato Ireland tour at noon.
Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I. Originally called Kylemore Castle, it was built between 1863 and 1868 as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy politician from Manchester, England who was also MP for Galway County from 1871 to 1885. Architects were James Franklin Fuller and Ussher Roberts. After the death of his wife Margaret in 1875, Mitchell did not spend much time there. He and his wife are both buried in the small mausoleum near the church in the grounds of the abbey. A notable feature of the abbey is the neo-Gothic church, a miniature replica of Norwich Cathedral, made from local green Connemara marble. It was built between 1877 and 1881 and has a beautiful stained glass tracery window depicts the five graces; Fortitude, Faith, Charity, Hope and Chastity, and it is a center of reflection and prayer for many visitors.

Occidental Glee Club Ireland Performance Schedule

Occidental College Glee Club meet the Galway Gospel Choir and a Norway Choir in Galway on Thursday, May 20 at 7.30 PM

Incantato Tours has arranged a very special event for the Occidental College Glee Club: They will join forces with the Galway Gospel Choir and a Norway Choir for a highlight exchange concert in Galway on Thursday, May 20 at 7.30 PM.
The venue is the beautiful Galway Franciscans Abbey. 'The Abbey' was founded in 1296. In 1781 the church was rebuilt and around 1836 the present building was opened.
Here is a picture of the Galway Gospel Choir, which you will meet in Galway:

The above picture is from the offical website of the Galway Gospel Choir.

Incantato Concert Venues: St. Nicholas Church in Galway

The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland in continuous use as a place of worship at the heart of Galway's life. A tour through the Church will allow you to glimpse the part of its rich history. You will see signs of the iconoclasm of the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell. But by contrast, should you visit during one of the many acts of worship you will see and hear the present day richness of the liturgy where sound and colour fill the delightful medieval building. Perhaps such present day liturgies are not that far removed from the sights, sounds and perfumes that graced St Nicholas centuries ago.

Have a look at the church's website for more information.