Monksland company's choir wins singing award for second year running

by Graham Dockery

A choir drawn from the staff of the Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical plant in Monksland, Athone, has taken first place for the second year in a row at an annual choral competition in Galway.

'NovoNotes', whose 15 members all work at the local plant, was declared the overall winner in the workplace section at the Choir Factor competition in a sold-out St Nicholas' Church on Saturday, March 8.

The Choir Factor event raised money for the SCCUL Sanctuary in Clarinbridge, Galway, which provides therapeutic support for people living with conditions such as cancer, Parkinsons, Alzheimers and MS. Thousands of people from the Midlands, West and Midwest attend the SCCUL Sanctuary every year for therapeutic support days.

The NovoNotes singers beat off competition from five other choirs, including groups from Medtronic and Fidelity Investments.

NovoNotes won the same competition last year, when the Monksland facility was operated by Alkermes and the group performed as the Alkermes Allegro choir. The choir also took first place in 2019.

"We have been together since 2017 but this is our first performance since being taken over by Novo Nordisk," a representative of the choir told the Westmeath Independent. “The main goal of this choir is to have fun and switch off for a while, enjoying the wellbeing benefits signing brings.”

The choir has around 15 members, though this number fluctuates depending on how busy the plant is at any given time. The singers rehearse every Monday, and twice a week in the run up to a performance.

Directed by Andrius Koslovskis, NovoNotes performs songs from a variety of genres, including popular music, folk music, musical theatre, and traditional music.

"We have been supporting SCCUL since 2017 and are delighted to be associated with their worthy cause," a spokesperson for the choir said.