Choral ambassadors at the European Choir Games in Gothenburg
A foretaste of the World Choir Games 2020 in Flanders/ Belgium
More than 5.000 singers - 135 choirs - 1 event that unites them all: The Grand Prix of Nations Gothenburg 2019 & 4. European Choir Games from August 03-10, 2019 summon the international choral community in Gothenburg, Sweden, for a spectacular choir event in Northern Europe. Three award-winning choral ambassadors from Belgium, the next host country of the World Choir Games 2020, will also join the event and proudly represent their nation on stage:
The Jeugdkoor Waelrant and its conductor Mrs. Marleen De Boo celebrated their latest successes also on the INTERKULTUR stages during the World Choir Games 2018 in South Africa, where they gained two times gold, and 2017 in Wernigerode, Germany, where they also achieved two golden diplomas. The ensemble was founded in 1968 and since1995 the choir has been led by Marleen De Boo. The mixed youth choir consists of 70 singers between 14 and 26 and is part of the non-profit organization “Waelrantkoren”, which includes 7 choirs and singers aged 4 to 80 years. The choir focuses on providing an elaborate vocal training and includes different genres and styles in its repertoire in order to broaden the youngsters’ musical development as widely as possible.
The Universitair Koor Antwerpen (UKA) is a male-female mixed choir founded in March 1989. The singers rehearse different kinds of choral music, ranging from classical to pop, under the direction of Dirk De Nef, a price-winning composer, who acted as the choir’s teacher and vocal coach for over 25 years. Since then, the choir grew from about 20 members to app. 100 singers today. During this time, they also made a name for themselves and now regularly perform at different festivities such as the decennial anniversary of the University of Antwerp.
Already decorated with gold at the World Choir Games 2018 and winning a first prize three times at the renowned European Music Festival for Young People in their home country Belgium, the Showkoor Rise Up seek to confirm their choral successes and demonstrate that the Belgian choral scene is top-notch. Rise Up started in September 2006 and consists of 40 girls aged between 14 and 25 and aims to provide them with opportunities to develop not only their musical skills, but also their self-confidence. Although the genre of show choir is relatively new in Belgium, the choir managed to make a home in the domestic choral scene and thus performs its own show every year and regularly participates in competitions and festivals at home and abroad.
More information about the Grand Prix of Nations Gothenburg 2019 & 4th European Choir Games and the World Choir Games 2020 in Flanders/ Belgium is available on the INTERKULTUR website!
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