Beyond the Music
DCU Christmas 2026 is coming and preparations are well in hand.
Our indefatigable Musical Director, Mandy Miller, has chosen the range of music we will sing . We thought we would find out a little more from her about this year’s music – What’s new this year? What pieces are particularly significant for Mandy and the choir? Why this particular selection?
What’s new this year?
DCU has a huge library of music accumulated over the years so there is much to choose from the existing repertoire. But each year there are brand new pieces to sit alongside the more familiar for the choir.
This year, there will be seven new pieces to learn. It is wonderful how the polished pieces emerge under Mandy’s direction. The Choir will feature a couple of Spanish songs this year, as well as new arrangements to well known, traditional carols and brand new pieces.
Particular pieces and why they are significant?
Mandy explained that this very special piece she includes in order to remember choir members we have lost during the year. She knows the choir will always sing it with deep feeling.
In her words: “This exceptional year, it allows us to honour and remember five dear members who remain close to our hearts.”
This arrangement was introduced to the choir and audiences in 2016, and it has opened every concert since as a kind of signature piece. Mandy says “With its string quartet and piano duet, it is a delight for the choir to sing and for me to conduct. It has truly become our Christmas theme song.”
New to the choir this year, this piece was suggested by a choir member. Mandy says she listened to it and was so moved that she immediately ordered 120 copies!!...
“Its beautiful text, melody and harmony fill me with a vivid sense of angels surrounding us as we sing. I am eagerly anticipating our first performance of this beautiful piece.”
“Each year, I have the pleasure of revisiting favourites from our library and discovering and purchasing new music. With our loyal audiences in mind, I carefully shape a well-balanced programme that combines the familiar with the new and offers variety without becoming too long. Above all, I hope each concert creates a meaningful experience that our choir and audience will carry with them long after the final note.”
(Mandy Miller, Musical Director, Dunfermline Choral Union)