Eurovision Choir Of The Year ~ Wales
Photo Taken from Côr Merched Sir Gâr Official Facebook Page and S4C
In a little over a days time. This Saturday 22nd July, the very first ever Eurovision Choir Of The Year will Take Place in Riga Latvia. It will be held in the Arena Riga and will see nine countries from Europe compete to see who will be crowned Europe's best. Over the next two days Eurovoxx will give you all the details of the artists. The 9 choirs are given six minutes to perform as many songs as they wish. The Ninth and final country to be premiered is Wales. S4C will be Wales' national broadcaster. This will be the first time that the United Kingdom has not partcipated as a unified nation, with Wales going it alone. The commentators will be Morgan Jones and Elin Manahan Thomas.
Who Are Wales' Choir?
The choir representing Wales will be Côr Merched Sir Gâr. The choir is based in Aberystwyth which is in West Wales, and is in a predominantly Welsh speaking area. It is another girl group who are made up of secondary school students. One of the youngest choirs in the competition, it was only set up five years ago and run by Carmarthenshire Council. They sing in a variety of languages, but Welsh and English tend to be the main ones. As Welsh is prominent in this area of Wales, the cortette will be singing in the native language, as it is seen to help promote the declining language. Mr Islwyn Evans will be the conductor taking Wales proudly on to the Eurovision stage. They have performed in the Royal Albert Hall in London, whilst earlier this year they won the very important title of Côr Cymru 2017 – Choir of Wales, a televised competition open to children’s, youth, female, male and mixed choirs, and won much acclaim from international jurors. Check their official Facebook page here.
What Will They Sing?
No songs have been officially announced yet.
Who Is the Conductor?
Mr Islwyn Evans is a founding figure in Welsh choral music. He has been founder conductor of two very well thought of choirs, and has received the British Federation of Youth Choirs conductor award and a Winston Churchill Fellowship to study training of children’s choirs in Sweden and Hungary. He studied music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Islwyn has established a school just for singers, and the Ysgol Gerdd Ceredigion has gone on to great things winning awards in Welsh events to celebrate Wales, and its importance in Welsh life and history. This man will be a tough one to beat.
How Will The Winner Be Chosen?
Unlike Eurovision there will be no tele voting, and no 'douze point', instead a winner will be chosen by a professional and impartial jury. The jury will consist of Latvia's Elina Garanca (a mezz- soprano), Switzerland's Nicolas Fink (a conductor), and finally United Kingdoms John Rutter (composer).
What Are The Rules?
The choirs have up to six minutes to perform one or more songs in the time allocated, and they can use any genre of music to sing. However they, “should in part reflect national or regional character in some way”.
Eurovoxx would like to wish Wales all the best this Saturday. "Pob Lwc Cymru". Check them singing in the video in the link here.
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