On Thursday, May 3rd, forty seven students from the Lycee Joseph Savina, a secondary school in Treguier in Brittany, France, visited Davis College. The day began with a French breakfast where students and staff sampled croissants, pain au chocolat and all types of French pastries. Students then attended a musical performance by a Russian female choir called ‘Divina’ which was organised in conjunction with the Cork International Choral Festival. In the afternoon, students engaged in some cultural and sporting activities. This project was part of the Mallow/Treguier Twinning Initative. The event was attended by Principal Denis Healy, Deputy Principal Gerard O’Sullivan, former Principal Jim Lysaght, Deputy Mayor Richard Dempsey, Chairperson of the Twinning Association, Pat McNally and teachers, staff and students. A big word of thanks to teachers Ms R Vereker, Mr. L. Labat and Mr. E. Joy for organising the event. It is hoped to organise further visits between the two schools which can only enhance the experiences of students studying French.

Russian Choir Visit

On Thursday last, staff and students were honoured by a visit from the Female Chamber Choir ‘Divina’ from Russia who will be taking part in this year’s Cork International Choral Festival.  Principal Denis Healy, Deputy Principal Ger O’Sullivan, Deputy Mayor Richard Dempsey and Pat McNally were happy to welcome the choir to Mallow and to Davis College. The choir entertained the student body and staff in what can only be described as a spell-binding performance. Female Chamber Choir Divina was founded in 2003 at St Petersburg’s remouwned musical school, named after the famous Russian composer N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Choir members study vocal and instrumental classes and many are full time students and staff of the university. Having competed successfully at international festivals in Greece, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Austria, the Female Chamber Choir Divina plays an important part in choral and musical life in St. Petersburg, regularly performing for schools and public concerts. The choir works from a repertoire of classical, religious and folk music and is led by director and conductor Galina Igumnova.