Soprano with strong links to Mullingar hopes to 'unite the world through song'

(Above) Rebecca Winckworth.

A singer with strong family links to Mullingar is one of the organisers of an online concert taking place this weekend featuring some of Ireland and the UK's foremost musical talents.

Rebecca Winckworth, granddaughter of the late Dr Trevor Winckworth, is busy with the final preparations for next Sunday's concert, Music From London's West End Afar, which will feature over 20 stars from the West End including current cast members from The Lion King, Les Miserables, We Will Rock You, Million Dollar Quartet, Book of Mormon, and many more.

They will perform Musical Theatre favourites from Les Miserables, to Wicked, Wizard of Oz, to Rent! and many more.

The concert, which takes place at 8pm on Sunday, August 9, is being organised by the non-profit organisation founded by Rebecca, Citizens of Song. The organisation, “which seeks to unite the world through song”, plans to host a series of online concerts that take the audience on a musical journey to a new destination each time.

The first concert Music From Ireland From Afar saw a line up of 20 talented Irish acts perform to an audience of over 24,000 people on 7 continents around the world in real time. The artists perform from their own homes through this streamed online concert format.

An experienced soprano who has sung around the world, Rebecca has performed in Mullingar on a number of occasions in recent years, including a well received concert last Christmas. There are also plans for another Christmas concert this year, Covid permitting.

Resident in the Colombian city of Medellin for half the year, she was the subject of a RTÉ news report in April when footage of her performing for her South American neighbours from the balcony of her apartment went viral.

Find out more about the weekend concert here.