Dare to Sing: SUSO Choral Festival 2026

Dare to Sing Choral Festival 2026

One ticket. Two days. Ten exceptional facilitators. A whole lot of singing.

Dare to Sing is back in Kilcock for a weekend packed with music, creativity, laughter, performance, learning and connection. Whether you already sing in a choir, love performing solo, want to build your confidence or simply want to discover what your voice can do, Dare to Sing is a chance to immerse yourself in music alongside singers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

This year’s extraordinary line-up brings together some of Ireland’s and the UK’s most exciting choir directors, vocal coaches, performers, arrangers and creative facilitators.

Across the festival, you can expect expertise spanning gospel, pop, contemporary choir, solo singing, vocal technique, musical theatre, choral arranging, community singing and beatboxing.

We’re keeping the full workshop programme under wraps for just a little longer—but trust us, there will be plenty to choose from!

Your full festival ticket includes:

• The opening workshop and performance on Friday 9th Oct from 6.30pm
• Three workshops of your choice on Saturday (two big group workshops and one small specialised workshop with capped numbers)
• Entry to the Dare to Sing concert on Saturday night
• Entry to the festival after-party on Saturday night
• Opportunities to perform during the festival
• A full weekend of singing, learning, music and connection

All of this is included in one festival pass:

€75 for SUSO choir members
€85 General Admission

How workshop booking works

Please read the following carefully. Buying your festival ticket and choosing your workshops are two separate steps.

Step 1: Buy your festival ticket now

Your ticket gives you access to the full Dare to Sing festival - including the Friday opening event, three Saturday workshops, Saturday night’s concert and the after-party.

You do not choose your individual Saturday workshops when purchasing your festival ticket.

Step 2: Full Workshop details are released on Monday, 14 September

The complete workshop programme will be revealed on 14 September.

Everyone who has purchased a ticket will receive the information by email. SUSO choir members will also receive festival information through the usual WhatsApp channels.

This gives you time to read through the programme and decide which workshops you would most like to attend.

Step 3: Workshop booking opens at 6pm on Monday, 21 September

Ticket holders will receive an email that day containing the workshop-booking link.

Workshop places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so we strongly recommend booking your festival ticket in advance and being ready to make your selections when booking opens at 6pm on Sept 21st.

Please note: Festival tickets will remain available after 21 September

You can still purchase a festival ticket after workshop booking opens. However, some workshops may already be full, so you may not be able to secure your first choices. If you book after 21st of September you will be emailed your workshop booking link within 24 hours and can choose from what is still available.

If there are particular styles or facilitators you are especially interested in, buying early will give you the best opportunity to access the widest selection, and it is also really helpful for us on the management side.

Meet the 2026 facilitators!

Craig Lees

Craig is an internationally renowned contemporary vocal coach, choral director and arranger. He will be working with pop and rock choir and with soloists and we cant wait - we never cease to be amazed by what we learn from Craig! We have had him every year at our choral festival because you keep asking to bring him back - you ask and we deliver!!

Declan Davies

Declan is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, arranger and Lecturer in Songwriting at Leeds Conservatoire. He has delivered songwriting and choral workshops internationally and works with artists, writers and record labels across the music industry. Craig and Declan have become firm Dare to Sing favourites—and anyone who has worked with them before will understand why! This year Declan will also be offering songwriting and soloist workshops.

Tim Uffindell

Tim is an internationally highly experienced vocal coach, choir director and workshop facilitator specialising in gospel and community singing. He has led mass choirs and festival sessions across the UK and Europe, bringing the same commitment and energy to every group he meets.

His warm, holistic and inclusive approach helps singers develop healthy vocal skills, build confidence and sing with freedom and passion. Tim has a remarkable ability to bring a room of people together and have them creating something powerful in a very short space of time. We cant wait to have him join us for the first time - we will give him the best SUSO welcome!

Ross Scanlon

Ross is a professional tenor, vocal specialist and Lecturer in Musical Theatre Voice at MTU Cork School of Music. He is also a member of the Vocal Faculty at The Lir Academy, Trinity College Dublin, and an examiner with the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

His career spans opera, concert performance, musical theatre and professional vocal coaching. His students have gone on to perform in the West End, the Abbey Theatre, the National Concert Hall, Cork Opera House and on international stages. He will be specialising in musical theatre at our festival this year as well as working with individuals! We cant wait!

Anastasia Inniss

Anastasia is an international soprano, vocal educator, director, producer and arts leader with more than 25 years of experience teaching voice, vocal repertoire and vocal pedagogy.

She is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Opera Programs Berlin and Dramatic Voices Program Berlin, as well as the founder of the Lanzarote Opera Festival and Academy. Her work combines a deep understanding of how the voice functions with creativity, individuality and artistic expression across classical music and musical theatre. We will be learning about solo singing, opera and vocal health from Anastasia!

Susan O’Brien

Susan is a singer, vocal coach, choir director and arranger—and the much-loved co-leader of the SUSO HarMammies, as well as both our Enfield and Straffan choirs.

Having spent almost two decades performing at ceremonies, studying jazz and exploring songwriting and recording, Susan now specialises in helping singers build confidence and find their own unique sound. She has a particular love of harmony, backing vocals and creating clever, satisfying arrangements for choirs. She will be sharing some of that expertise with us at this years festival!

Claire Crehan

Claire is a community music teacher, pianist, composer, performer and choral facilitator, and one of the founders of Speak Up Sing Out Music School. She creates bespoke arrangements shaped around the people who will actually sing them. Claire holds first-class honours degrees in music and classical piano performance, and previously worked as resident musical director for international touring productions including The World of Musicals, Celtic Nights and The International Magic Tenors.

She also runs Music Medicine, a voicework and sound healing programme exploring the transformative power of voice and breath, and will be bringing a taster of this work to this year's festival.

Eimear Crehan

Eimear is the founder and Director of SpeakUp SingOut, the creator and host of Dare to Sing, and an acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter, performer, choir director and creativity coach.

Alongside her own recording and touring career, Eimear specialises in working with stage fright, creative blocks, anxiety and people who have been told—or have convinced themselves—that they cannot sing. Her work is grounded in a fierce belief that every person has a voice and deserves the chance to use it.

Zach Brosnan & DBS Beatbox

Zach Brosnan & DBS are Irish Beatbox Champions and will represent Ireland in the solo category at the next World Beatbox Championships.

Ireland’s most exciting beatboxers, Zach & DBS create an extraordinary range of rhythms, sounds and musical effects using only the human voice. Their presence at Dare to Sing brings a completely different dimension to the festival—and the chance to explore rhythm, vocal creativity and what the voice can do far beyond traditional singing.

Rachel Dempsey

Rachel is a singer, ethnomusicologist, educator, community builder and wellbeing facilitator. She is the founder of Full Circle Change and previously created Global Harmonies, bringing community singing and singing-for-wellbeing workshops to individuals and organisations in Ireland and internationally.

Rachel’s work explores the ability of music to connect people, create belonging and support meaningful change. She brings warmth, curiosity and a wealth of experience in bringing groups together through shared song.

Will you Dare to Sing?

Come for the workshops. Come for the performances. Come to challenge yourself, meet other singers, try something unexpected and spend a weekend surrounded by people who understand the joy of making music together.

Dare to Sing is more than a series of workshops. It is a celebration of voices, creativity, community and what can happen when we stop holding back and allow ourselves to be heard.

SUSO choir members: €75
General admission: €85

Book your full festival pass now and get ready to Dare to Sing!