Moore Stephens International Choir Festival of Jersey

6th - 9th October 2011

A Biennial Festival

Participating Choirs 2011

Cantado

Ireland
Cantado was formed to explore the choral repertoire from Renaissance madrigals to contemporary works by leading national and international composers and quickly gained a reputation as a highly accomplished musical group. Activities have included concert performances and recitals in most major Irish venues. The choir has also recorded and been involved in national broadcasts for RTE. They are the first Irish choir to have attained gold level at the Verona International Choral Festival.

Vanersborgskoren Bjornligan

Sweden
Vänersborgskören Björnligan is a mixed choir from the small town of Vänersborg, western Sweden. Björnligan is not only mixed in the original sense, but also when you look at the age groups and professional backgrounds of the singers. The choir consists of 38 singers, 21 women and 17 men, from 30 to 70 years of age. Conductor is Björn Hård of Segerstad. When he moved to Vänersborg in 1982, he started a choir. and in 1983 the choir got its name, Björnligan, which means Björn’s League.

Hart Male Voice Choir

England
Formed in 1973, The Hart Singers have grown from the original 5 singers to the currently 60 strong Hart Male Voice Choir. The choir is now widely experienced, having performed all over Britain and Europe, as well as Scandinavia and South Africa. Highlights include a concert in the beautiful Montserrat Monastery in Barcelona, the cruise ship MV Oriana, and the humbling Lwandle Primary School amongst the township of Kyelitsha outside Cape Town, South Africa.

The Musical Originals Singers

Jersey
The Musical Originals Singers is the senior choir of the Musical Originals School established in 1989 by Imogen Nicholls IRAM. The choir comprises 22 girls with average age of 13 and has gained a reputation for specialising in contemporary music, particularly works written in the lifetime of choir members. In October 2008 the choir won the Youth Choir Class at the festival and the Childrens Choir Section at ‘Young Prague 2009. The choirs most recent success was ‘Choir of the Day’ in last years BBC Choir of the Year Competition.

Gimnazje Celje-Center

Slovenia
Girls Choir Gimnazije Celje-Center has participated in many international competitions under the leadership of Prof. Barbara Arlic including 46th and 48th European Music Festivals in Neerpelt where the choir won first award, also performing as the best Girls’ Choir in the final concert. At the International Choir Festival in Riva del Garda in 2002 and 2004 they won the Silver awardand also won Silver at the Choir Olympiad in Linz in 2000. At the Festival Franz Liszt in Budapest the girls won the Gold award and in the competition at Rhodes, where they achieved second place, they were again awarded a Gold Medal. Barbara Arlic was born in Celje and became the artistic leader of the Girl’s Choir in January 1995.

The Eight

Jersey
As the name implies the choir consists of eight sopranos and altos who came together specifically to sing contemporary British Choral music written for female voices. The choir was selected to compete in the Equal Voices section at Rimini singing in eight, four and three parts in competition with 14 other countries. For thiscompetition ‘The Eight’ will perform a challenging contemporary piece by Peter Maxwell Davies and Gustv Holsts ‘Ave Maria’. The choir work without a conductor

Charvil Girls Choir

England
Charvil Girls' Choir was started in 2007 by Suzanne Newman. It's accompanist is Mary Daniels. There are thirty girls between the ages of 11 and 18 - twelve of these girls will be coming to Jersey. The choir members come from the villages surrounding Reading in Berkshire. In its first year, the choir qualified for the Music for Youth National Festival. The choir won two trophies at the prestigious Cheltenham Music Festival in 2009. In 2010, the choir reached the finals of the Barnardo's Choral Competition at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Guernsey Glee Singers

Guernsey
The Guernsey Glee Singers was founded in 1927 and is now the oldest established choir still in existence in Guernsey. It started with a handful of girls and, in July 1929, won the ladies’ choirs class at the Bournemouth Music Festival. The choir retained this award again in both 1930 and 1931. In 1931 a male section was included and the choir grew to some forty voices.

Renaissance Ladies Barbershop Chorus

England
The girls are thrilled to be coming back to the beautiful island of Jersey to compete for the second time. A lot has happened since they last competed: winning Exeter Music Festival twice, competing at the Barbershop National Convention, singing in Sligo, Ireland and since last competing have grown from 24 members to 43. Renaissance are members of LABBS – Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers. The choirs Director is Maire Hoppins.

Popkoor Kolok

Netherlands
Kolok Pop Choir is a special guest at this years International Choir Festival of Jersey. Kolok come the town of Helmond, near Eindhoven, in the southern part of the Holland and it will be the first time they have performed ‘abroad’. In 2000 the group were overall winners of the Dutch Choir Festival, and "The best pop choir of the Netherlands " at the Hotzone Festival in November 2005 which they won for a second time in October 2009 . The choir consists of about 45 singers and 8 musicians and performs a mix of contemporary Dutch and English pop music. Over the years they have produced several CD's and several videos on You Tube performed in joint concerts with orchestras and other choirs.