Patrick Mulhern, nationally-known Irish tenor, will be in concert in his own home town in July. The NBA will host a picnic and concert at the Nokesville Park pavilion on Saturday, July 27.

Patrick has been singing his entire life. As one of ten children of Irish parents, he sang in church with his mother, herself a professional singer, in Rockville, MD; he also sang at family gatherings. Eventually, friends encouraged him to continue with his singing, so he took some professional training in New York to improve his tone, texture and volume.

Patrick’s repertoire includes Irish ballads, Italian arias, Broadway show tunes, Gilbert and Sullivan light operas and, his favorite type, sacred music. He has been tenor soloist for such well-known oratorios as Handel’s Messiah, Stainer’s Crucifixion and Haydn’s Creation.

As soloist as part of voice ensembles, Patrick has performed at the Kennedy Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral (NY), Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and many other churches throughout the eastern United States. In addition, he has been in concert in the Virgin Islands, Canada and throughout the US.

In 1995, Patrick released his first album, inspired by his return to the Catholic Church; I Can See is a collection of favorite sacred songs. Since then, he has recorded His Gift: Reflections on the Christmas Story, For Love of Ireland, and his latest, released in February 2002, Spirit of Ireland. His albums sell very well through concerts, Christian bookstores and distributors.

Patrick hires a nice mix of professional instrumentalists to provide background music that doesn’t interfere with the voice and message being conveyed. Background music typically consists of piano, violin, string bass and percussion.

Patrick sings for the joy that music brings to others and for its ability to help others and touch the lives of listeners. As such, he does a lot of benefit concerts on behalf of family and Christian-oriented organizations, such as the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, Food for the Poor, church building funds, homeless shelters and crisis pregnancy centers. At a family conference at the MCI Center, Patrick and daughter Bridget performed the closing ceremony in front of a 20,000- member audience.

For the Christmas holiday, he is already booked for performances in Manassas and Maryland. Except for occasional weddings, Patrick takes the summers off, so Nokesville is fortunate to have him in concert in July.

Irish singing and dancing is a Mulhern family activity which they enjoy doing together. He and wife Karen have four daughters. While all have sung with him at some point, daughter Bridget is a soloist on his latest album. Two daughters are prize-winning Irish dancers. Karen prefers the behind-the-scenes work, tending to details, schedules and costumes.

The Mulherns enjoy bringing a positive message of faith, family and hope to their audience and have a great time performing.

The picnic and free concert in Nokesville Park will take place Saturday, July 27, 2002 starting at 6:00. The Woodbridge Flute Quartet will provide pre-show music. Everyone is invited to bring picnics, blankets or lawn chairs, family and friends. Picnic-style food will be available for purchase. The park is located on Aden Road near the Nokesville United Methodist Church. For more information, visit the Nokesville Business Association website www.Nokesville.net.

(July 2002)