Kilkenny choir to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall

A Kilkenny choir has been invited to perform at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City next year.

The Lady Desart Choir will take part in an event on January 16, 2027 in an event that will also mark the first public performance of the choir’s 10th anniversary year. The Kilkenny-based SATB choir will appear as part of the prestigious Performing Arts Educators’ Annual Invitational Concert, bringing Irish voices.

Founded in 2017, the Lady Desart Choir has grown into an ensemble of 75 singers — men and women ranging in age from 26 to 86. Each year it hosts a Christmas concert in St Canice’s Cathedral that has become one of the highlights of the city’s festive season.
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The Carnegie Hall invitation has powerful historical resonance for Kilkenny. Carnegie Hall was founded by the Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, whose support for arts and education extended around the world. In Kilkenny, Carnegie funded the construction of the city’s Carnegie Library, while the site for the building was purchased and gifted by Lady Desart — the remarkable Irish philanthropist after whom the choir is named.

Lady Desart formally opened the Carnegie Library on November 3, 1910, and was later awarded the Freedom of the City of Kilkenny in recognition of her civic leadership and generosity. More than a century later, the Lady Desart Choir’s performance at Carnegie Hall links Kilkenny once again with this legacy in New York.

"This invitation is an incredible honour for our choir and for Kilkenny," said Musical Director Gillian Coulter. "To perform in Carnegie Hall is a dream for any musician, but for a choir named after Lady Desart — who helped bring Carnegie’s legacy to our city — it feels particularly meaningful.”

The invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall arose through the choir’s upcoming collaboration with the USA’s Caledonian String Orchestra, an international partnership that will see the two ensembles perform together in St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny on June 18 this year.

The Lady Desart Choir is currently welcoming support from community partners and sponsors in both Ireland and the United States who would like to be associated with the moment and help bring Kilkenny’s music to Carnegie Hall. A GoFundMe page and a series of fundraising events throughout 2026 will help send the choir across the Atlantic next January.
If you or your organisation would like to be involved, please contact ldctouring@gmail.com or support the choir at: https://bit.ly/4sNwA95