Vox Orbis

The Music of Maurice Duruflé

Founded in 2019, Vox Orbis is a female choral ensemble based in Galway and directed by Dr Mark Keane. In 2019, the choir gave its first performance in Arundel Cathedral, UK, performing Cecilia McDowall’s Missa Mariae and Regina Coeli. In February 2020, Vox Orbis won the Plainchant Competition and the Dr Patrick McCormack Trophy for the best overall performance of an a-cappella piece at the Limerick Choral Festival. The choir was awarded the Trofaí Cuimhneacháin Philip Ui Laoghaire at Cork International Choral Festivals in 2023 for the performance of a choral work in Irish, and the National Competition for Church Music in 2024. The choir has performed a number of large-scale works including Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Michael Haydn Missa Sancti Leopoldi and Vespers, Emma Johnson Songs of Celebration, Kim Andre Arnesen Magnificat and Stabat Mater, Britten Missa Brevis and A Ceremony of Carols, and Duruflé Requiem. The choir performed at the American Cathedral, Paris (2023), Norwich Cathedral, UK (2024), and later this year will sing in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome.

Dr Mark Keane, founder and director of Vox Orbis, is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, and holds diplomas from Trinity College London, London College of Music, Royal School of Music and the Royal College of Organists. A former organ scholar at the National Cathedral of St Patrick, Mark is now Organist and Director of Music at Tuam Cathedral and Head of Music at Galway Community College. His recording of the complete domestic music of John Amner on the Rubicon Classics label enjoyed favourable reviews in Gramophone, Early Music, Choir & Organ, The Sunday Times and BBC Music Magazine. Mark’s compositions are published by Cailíno Music Publishers in Ireland and he is the editor of The Oxford Book of Upper-Voice Polyphony, published by Oxford University Press in 2021. He has received many awards for his contribution to the arts in Galway including the Mayor of Galway’s Award for Arts and Culture, the Galway REHAB People of the Year Award, and the Galway Junior Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Leadership Award.

Raymond O'Donnell is organist and director of music at Galway Cathedral, a post he has held since 1994. A native of Dublin, he studied music and mathematical physics at Maynooth University, graduating in 1991 with a first-class Master’s degree in organ performance and interpretation. He founded Galway Cathedral Recitals in 1994, to present a series of organ and other concerts in the Cathedral every summer; and between 2006 and 2007 he oversaw a major rebuild of the cathedral organ which saw it transformed into one of the finest symphonic instruments in the country. Before coming to Galway, he directed sacred music for three years in Clongowes Wood College. He has a busy performing career, and performs regularly as soloist and accompanist in Ireland and across Europe. He is an adjunct lecturer and tutor in St Patrick’s Pontifical University and Maynooth University. In addition to his musical career, Ray also specialises in developing bespoke software for online administrative systems, and when time permits he enjoys taking to the skies with Galway Flying Club.