Following the success of the first six editions, the City of Derry International Choir Festival is back with a bang this autumn from 23-27 October, announcing an impressive and diverse line-up of participating choirs from across Europe and South America.
Organisers look forward to welcoming more than 50 choirs to the city to take part in competitions, concerts, performances and workshops across the 5-day event.
This year’s festival will also include a jam-packed schedule of non-competitive performances by more than 40 local choirs and singing groups as part of the Every Voice Community Programme, in partnership with Derry choir Allegri, resulting in a total of nearly 100 participating choirs.
The highlight of the weekend will be the International Competition, to be held on Saturday 26 October in St. Columb’s Hall. Eight choirs, representing eight countries, will compete for the prestigious “Oak Tree of Derry” trophy and a cash prize of £2,000.
The competitors are:
1. Coral Brasília, Brazil
2. Voices of Hope, England
3. New Dublin Voices, Ireland
4. Coro Giovanile Regionale del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
5. St. Zlata Meglenska Female Chamber Choir, North Macedonia
6. Solheimkoret, Norway
7. Coro Feminino CVS, Portugal
8. Cordydd, Wales
Adjudicating all competitions will be a panel of distinguished choral directors with a wealth of experience as international jurors. The festival welcomes the return of Josep Vila I Casañas, one of the best-known choral conductors in Catalonia and Spain, for his third year leading the team as Chair of the adjudicating panel.
Artistic Director of the festival, Dónal Doherty, commented on this year’s line-up, “We’re delighted to announce yet another exciting and outstanding line-up of choirs for this year’s festival. Derry’s growing reputation as the City of Song continues to serve as a magnet to some of the very best choirs in the world. The five-day festival will once again bring the whole of the North West alive for all music lovers – Portrush for the golf, Derry for the singing!”
Tickets for all festival events go on sale from the Millennium Forum Box office in August. For further information and updates visit www.derrychoirfest.com.