Sharon looking forward to date with Mullingar audience

When talented Kildare-born mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty performs at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar, she will look upon the audience as a home crowd.Sharon, who grew up in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, is a daughter of Angela Carty (née Duffy), who is from Mullingar, and a granddaughter of Paddy and the late Maura Duffy, St. Brigid's Terrace, Mullingar.She will perform at the Cathedral at 8pm on Sunday next, March 28, in the local leg of the Earley Musicke Ensemble's 'Stabat Mater' tour.Sharon recently completed her studies at the Opera School of the University for Music and Performing Arts, in the Austrian capital of Vienna, and her love affair with music goes all the way back to her childhood visits to Mullingar."I originally wanted to do PE teaching, but I loved music from an early age," Sharon told the Westmeath Examiner. "Although there were no singers or classical musicians in my family, my grandmother Maura was a very talented fiddle player."Developing her vocal talents early during secondary school, sport was nevertheless first on the agenda during Sharon's teenage years. Determined to pursue her dream of PE teaching, she went on to complete a degree in Physical Education and English at the University of Limerick."It was only when I was in college that I realised how much I missed music," Sharon said.She took up a post teaching PE, music and English at the girls' school in Mount Sackville, Chapelizod, and worked there for four years before a career in music came calling.In the meantime, Sharon completed a music diploma in Vocal Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. After further study in Dublin, she then made a career-changing move to Vienna - Europe's classical music capital.Her career has gone from strength to strength ever since, but she never forgets her roots, particularly those in Mullingar. "One of my favourite memories of my childhood is going up to Marshall's with Nana from St. Brigid's Terrace, to get a box of Coco Pops," Sharon recalls.