Derek Varso
Our Music Team
Derek Varso has been conducting choirs for over 25 years and is delighted to
become the choir director of Dublin Male Voice Choir from September 2026.
In 2024 he graduated from a 2 year Masters degree in Choral Studies at DCU, and
as a choir director has participated in the International Summer School for Choral
Conducting in University of Limerick for many years. For 11 happy years Derek was
choir director of Dalkey Active Retired Association Choir, and they performed at
Limerick Sings International Choral Festival in 2017 and 2019. In 2018 Derek was
invited to lead the Songmartins, a new community based choir based in Drumcondra
with about a dozen members, and now has over 60 singers who perform 2-3
concerts annually. Derek directed the Rockmount Choir, Blackrock at a concert in St
Patrick’s cathedral as part of the Dublin International Choral Festival in 2017. While
organist and choirmaster in Taney Parish Church, his choir won the Lennox Braid
Memorial Trophy for church choirs at the Feis Ceoil. As an organist Derek also won
1 st prize at the Feis Ceoil and participated in organ master classes in Sion,
Switzerland; Leipzig, Germany and in Dublin and been organ tutor for a number of
years in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth at the annual church music summer school
there.
In his spare time, Derek loves the outdoors and enjoys gardening, hiking, sea
swimming and cycling, while indoors, theatre and concerts, entertaining and cooking
along with babysitting grandchildren are favourite activities!
