You are invited to An Evening with Sylvia Burnside and her friends from New Irish Arts, which will take place at First Ahoghill Presbyterian Church on Saturday 30th November 2024 starting at 7.45pm.
Although she was born and bred in Scotland, Sylvia has lived in Ballymena for well over 20 years and counts Ballymena as her hometown:
“As I watched the Christmas lights being turned on in Ballymena on Saturday evening and had the joy of singing in front of everyone there, I thought to myself: ‘I love these people and this place.’ They have adopted me and taken me to their hearts as one of their own and I cannot tell you how much that means to me”, she told The Church Page.
A former pupil of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Sylvia Burnside is perhaps best known for her long association with the New Irish Arts Choir & Orchestra. Over the years, she has performed at some of the highest profile concerts in Northern Ireland, singing to thousands of people in the process:
“Over my time with New Irish Arts. I have grown as a person, as a performer, a mother and even as a carer for family members who have needed me over the years”, reflects Sylvia.
“20 years has just disappeared in the blink of an eye. The last time I did something on this scale in Ballymena was in 2001-2002 when we booked out the Town Hall and formed a united choir to perform two musicals. ‘A Family Christmas’ and ‘King of Kings.”
She recalled: “It was an incredible couple of events where lots of friendships were made. I remember realising the hunger and desire that people in the town had to worship God and to praise Him, which is what Christmas is all about.”
Fast forward two decades and Sylvia has been kept extremely busy with lots of exciting projects. In tandem with her singing, she was very involved with the Friends of VisPa charity and even travelled to Kenya as part of a short-term missionary team.
Says Sylvia: “I have met some lovely people along the way, but music will always be my first love. The upcoming concert was actually organised as a surprise for me by my lovely husband, Richard and my very dear friend, Jonathan Rea. When they told me about it however, I was delighted because I had toyed with the idea of organizing something for the last two years but didn’t know where to start.”
Certainly, Sylvia is excited to be collaborating with friends from First Ahoghill Presbyterian Church as it is close to her home in Cullybackey and, as such, will offer in opportunity to bring residents from both villages together at the start of Advent.
The songstress reflects: “It’s been and interesting journey for someone who originally set out to be a podiatrist. But God has a way of getting you to do things that you don’t expect and I am thankful for that.
To my surprise, tickets for the concert in Ahoghill are selling well; it will be a lovely evening and the perfect way to look ahead to Christmas.”
To get your tickets for An Evening with Sylvia Burnside & Friends from New Irish Arts on Saturday 30th November, log on to the Eventbrite website