Douglas Carnes - Executive and Artistic Director

Douglas Carnes has been in the music scene his entire life. His love of music and passion for working with the youth in his community gave him a strong incentive to start the Danu Young Women’s Choir here in Letterkenny, County Donegal.

Starting at a young age, Douglas’s mother (the first of many strong female influences in his life) flew him to Kingston, Jamaica to learn how to play Latin and African percussion. This skyrocketed his trajectory for a lifetime of musical experiences. Douglas graduated from Five Towns College (FTC) in Long Island, New York with his Bachelor's degree in Music Education and his Master's degree in Choral Conducting. While there, he played percussion on Disney’s “The Lion King” on Broadway. Upon graduation, he was employed in Harlem, New York where he developed a choral curriculum for middle school-aged (11-15) students focused on healthy singing and building relationships through the barbershop choral art form.

This led Carnes to relocate to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2015 as the Artistic and Executive Director of the award-winning Great Northern Union Chorus. Then in 2019, he transitioned back to working with young adults as the Artistic and Musical Director of Sing Out Loud young women’s choirs in Rochester, Minnesota. All the while, Carnes taught at St. Louis Park Middle School where he helped grow the choral department by over 300% and took those choirs to two international youth singing competitions.

From the U.S. to Asia, and now Europe, Carnes has worked as a choral clinician, educator, coach, and performer, but his heart and soul will always live in his work with young people singing. Now living with his wife Taryn and son Cillian in Co. Donegal Ireland, Carnes is pursuing his Doctor of Music Performance at The Royal Irish Academy of Music (Trinity College Dublin.) He is thrilled to be embarking on this journey as the founder of Danu Young Women’s Choir. For more information please visit douglascarnes.com

Originally from the United States, American soprano Diana Bryan McLaughlin has lived a life deeply rooted in music. She began piano at the age of seven and voice at eleven, quickly excelling as both a singer and pianist. As a young performer, she earned numerous accolades, including first place in classical voice at the Mid-Atlantic Regional NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) competition and recognition as a Distinguished Scholar of the Arts in her home state of Maryland.

Mrs. McLaughlin earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from the Catholic University of America, where she studied under Metropolitan Opera soprano Sharon Christman. During her time at the university, she appeared in a variety of operatic roles, most notably as Emily in Ned Rorem’s Our Town at its East Coast premiere. Her performance received critical acclaim from The Washington Post, which praised her Emily as “sung with agility, ebullience, and true-to-life emotional expression.”

Her professional experience includes collaborations with distinguished directors and conductors such as Michael Scarola (New York Opera), James Hampton (Houston Grand Opera), Murry Sidlin (National Symphony Orchestra), Kate Tamarken (University of Virginia), Anton Zafp (Stuttgart State Opera), Nayer Nagui (Cairo Opera), and Nadar Abassi (Cairo Opera).

Since relocating to Donegal in 2009 with her husband, Mrs. McLaughlin has been an active presence in the region’s musical life. She has performed with Northwest Opera, Replay Theatre, and in numerous recitals and concerts. She has also conducted choirs, taught in secondary schools, and developed a thriving private teaching studio.

Recent highlights include her European tour with The Phantom of the Opera as Carlotta, and her role as a featured soloist in The Andrew Lloyd Webber Gala European Tour. Following the pandemic, she premiered Greg Caffrey’s Harbour, an opera designed for babies.

Today, Mrs. McLaughlin lives in Derry with her husband and their three children, continuing to share her artistry with audiences at home and abroad.

Dr Helen Haughey - Accompanist

Helen Haughey is originally from Muff in Inishowen, and now lives in Redcastle. She began her piano studies at the age of 7 with Helen Keaveney, and studied with James MacCafferty, and Sr Eveleen in Loreto Milford, before winning a scholarship to the RIAM, where she studied for many years with Professor Brian Beckett. She holds licentiates in piano performance and teaching from the RIAM, and from Trinity and Guildhall schools of music in London. She studied music and composition in Trinity College, Dublin, where she was awarded a PhD in Musicology in 2001.

One of Helen's main interests is accompanying: she has worked at feiseanna, auditions and concerts, has broadcast for RTE, and performed at the NCH. She works with many primary schools in Inishowen, where she is also director of music in Carndonagh Parish, and the musical director of Carndonagh Musical Society.