More
than 500 choristers joined together to perform concerts
over the four days of the festival. A cultural exchange
of choral music and a unique opportunity for both
singers and audiences to explore and engage in the
musical talents of singers from around the globe.
2009
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
 The
festival organisers are delighted to welcome
the acclaimed choral conductor and composer,
Jonathan Willcocks as Artistic Director.
He has worked extensively as a guest conductor
throughout the world and is celebrated in his
field. Developing from his early experience
as a chorister at King’s College and as
a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge,
his career has embraced a broad spectrum of
conducting work and he is also prominent as
a widely published composer with his works widely
performed and appreciated both in UK and in
USA.
Jonathan
Willcocks has an active involvement in music
education, as Director of the Junior Academy
at the Royal Academy of Music in London since
1989. He is currently conductor and musical
director of the Portsmouth Choral Union, the
Chichester Singers and the professional chamber
orchestra Southern Pro Musica and freelance
conducting engagements take him to many parts
of the world where he conducts both his own
music and the broader choral and orchestral
repertoire.
In addition to the Leipzig International Choral
Festival, in the summer of 2008 he will also
be guest conducting at festivals in Michigan,
Santa Fe and Albuquerque in USA. His extensive
choral and orchestral conducting experience
results in many invitations to take choral workshops
and adjudicate competitions and festivals –
in May 2008 he will be Chairman of the Jury
for the prestigious Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) Choral Competition in Toronto and Montreal.
Jonathan’s
compositions encompass large-scale orchestral
scores and chamber music, in addition to the
many choral works published principally by Oxford
University Press, Lorenz (USA) and Prime Music.
Prestigious commissions have been received from
many festivals and choirs and his major works
have been presented in major concerts halls,
including the Carnegie Hall in New York, Royal
Festival and Royal Albert Halls in London and
Symphony Hall in Birmingham. There are now many
recordings of his music, including three CDs
issued by Priory Records devoted entirely to
his choral music and two Prime Music CDs of
his works for children’s choirs.
www.jonathanwillcocks.com
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Chancel
Choir of Davidson College
North Carolina, United States
of America
Nestled between the high ridges of the Blue
Ridge mountain range and the broad beaches of
coastal North Carolina, the town of Davidson
is found. Davidson College, founded in 1837,
boasts a lively cultural schedule, the music
department has a long and proud tradition of
fine choral ensembles, starting with the outstanding
Men’s Choruses conducted by Professor
Donald Plott from the early 1950’s to
the early 1980’s. Today the Concert
Choir and Chorale carry on that proud
tradition of excellence. Director of Music and
organist, Jane D. Cain has performed extensively
throughout the United States and Europe. She
is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists.
www.dcpc.org
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Enchore
Leipzig
Leipzig,
Deutschland
The ladies chamber choir "Enchore
Leipzig", began in September 2007
and includes former members of the Leipzig MDR
children's choir. Under the direction of music
researcher, Andreas Mitschke, the ensemble was
initially designed to perform at smaller, mostly
private events. But quickly the singers were
destined for larger a bigger challenges. The
choir frequently performs in churches of Leipzig
and the surrounding area.
The ensemble repertoire includes the choral
music of the 19th and 20th centuries with works
by; Javier Busto, György Orban and Wilhelm
Kill Mayer. In addition, they perform traditional
compositions similar to those of Josef Rheinbergers
"Missa A Major", Franz Schubert and
Mendelssohn Bartholdy. They are dlighted to
be part of the first Leipzig Choral Festival.
.
www.enchore-leipzig.de
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Highland
Glee Club
Massachusetts, United States
of America
Celebrating their centenary, the Highland
Glee Club have been performing choral
music since 1908. Its members include singers
from all walks of life and many communities
in Boston's suburbs. The club performs a varied
selection of classical music, show tunes, folk
songs, ballads and spirituals from its extensive
library. Their theme song and motto "Ecce
Quam Bonum" is as true today as it was
then. "Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
www.highlandgleeclub.com
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High
Point University Touring Choir
North Carolina, United States
of America
Welcome to High Point University Touring
Choir! The choir is comprised of about
forty-five students selected from three choral
groups in the vocal music program. Their music
covers a broad spectrum of genres that include
classical, spiritual, gospel, and jazz. They
have travelled extensively earning high honours
and superior recognitions in Toronto, Canada,
Nassau, Bahamas, Honolulu, Hawaii, Orlando,
Florida, New York City, New York, Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina and recently in Atlanta, Georgia
where they received a Gold Award, an Adjudicator's
Award and a Spirit Award. The choir have also
sang at the 2006 Christmas celebration in Washington
for president George Bush.
www.highpoint.edu/chapel
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L'Accroche-Choeur
ensemble vocal Fribourg
Fribourg, Switzerland
L'Accroche-Choeur is an a cappella
group from the Swiss town, Fribourg, founded
almost 850 years ago. The vocal ensemble began
in September 1982. The 55-person choir is captured
with a ‘mesmerising reverb that is just
magical!’ Jean-Claude Fasel who interprets
the sacred works from the Renaissance period
to the present day directs the group. Concerts
are given throughout the year with the assistance
of musicians, soloists and sometimes in collaboration
with other choirs. L’Accroche Choeur is
delighted to be part of the Leipzig International
Choral Festival.
www.accroche-choeur.ch
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NOVA
Community Chorus
Northern Virginia, United States
of America
The NOVA Community Chorus is
a part of the music program at Northern Virginia
Community College, Alexandria, Virginia. The
full ninety-voice ensemble, comprised of singers
from both the college and the surrounding community,
performs regularly with many of the region's
orchestras and has performed in Washington's
National Theater and at the Kennedy Center,
as well as Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center
in New York City. In 1992 the chorus toured
Spain and performed at the World's Fair in Seville.
Members of the choir sang at Gloucester Cathedral
in 2003 and returned to England in 2006 to sing
at Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral.
www.nvcc.edu/novachorus
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Projekt
Mannerchore from Torgau, Taucha and Ermlitz
Germany
These male-voice choirs from Ermlitz, Taucha and
Torgau will perform jointly for the Leipzig Choral
Festival for the first time. Every choir rehearses
on its own and has a diverse repertoire. It will
be interesting to hear the male voices blend and
create a new choral sound led by Eric Shober,
this will be a premiere performance for the three
choirs to perform together.
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| Schola
Cantorum
Leipzig, Germany
Today the girls choir of Schola Cantorum
comprises of about 30 singers from the age of
fourteen to twenty years. The ensemble’s
repertoire comprises of a cappella music from
the Middle Ages to the present day, but also includes
accompanied works too. The choir is a romantic
repertoire including Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms,
Rheinberger, to name few plus other contemporary
works. Numerous premieres and commissioned works
and successful competitions show the high level
of commitment and success as well as numerous
radio, television and CD recordings. The choir
has travelled extensively in Germany and in countries
such as South Africa, Italy, Israel, Finland,
the USA, Britain, Poland and France. In 2009,
Schola Cantorum have once again been invited to
perform in the USA.
www.schola-cantorum.de
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ShowChor
L.E
Leipzig, Germany
ShowChor L.E. was launched
in June 2004 by the musical actress and church
musician Regina Kolb. The ensemble consists
of sixteen experienced singers between the ages
of 20 to 45 years. The choir has it own distinct
personal charm through musical arrangements
and popular 50’s music. Powerful singing,
moving solo voices and sparkling choreography
are the hallmark of the choir. In addition to
concerts in Leipzig churches and numerous shows
at festivals, the choir have participated in
the Classic Open at the Leipzig Augustusplatz
experience.
www.showchor-le.de
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| Singschule
Leipzig e.V
Leipzig,
Germany
From a small choir, founded in 1980, Singschule
currently have about 60 members. A growing chorus
ensemble, in which children as young as the age
of six and young adults make music together. Singschule
are involved in numerous events around Leipzig
including the Leipzig City Festival and Christmas
markets. They have a broad and colourful repertoire
with versatility recently demonstrated in the
children's musical " Der kleine Muck"
by Boris Ritter.
www.singschule.com
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Sons
of Orpheus
Tucson, United States of America
The male choir of Tucson is
a community-based men’s choral organisation.
The group, in its sixteenth season, presents
concerts around the world. Grayson Hirst founded
Sons of Orpheus in 1991 with the aid of a University
of Arizona Faculty of Fine Arts Incentive Grant
award. Orpheus explore the vast and significant
body of classical and popular choral literature
written specifically for men’s voices
and spanning all periods and styles. Sons of
Orpheus perform operative choruses, classical
compositions for men’s voices, folk and
sacred music from many cultures. The group have
been personally invited to sing at the White
House in Washington, D.C. The distinguished
American tenor Grayson Hirst has appeared as
soloist with leading American orchestras from
Alaska to Puerto Rico and with orchestras such
as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York
Philharmonic to name but a few.
www.sonsoforpheus.org
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Studio
Vocalis Leipzig
Leipzig, Deutschland
MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON
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Vocal
Ensemble Borinzi
This female-voice choir was founded in January
2001 and has been a registered association for
the promotion of cultural purposes since November
2002 Their repertoire encompasses modern, classical
and sacred music as well as folk songs.
Every Monday, 23 women gather with choir director
Erik Schober for joint rehearsals. They perform
about five concerts in and around Leipzig each
year. The “Krönungsmesse” (Coronation
Mass) by W. A. Mozart performed together with
choirs from Taucha in 2006 and the Requiem by
W. A. Mozart performed in St Peter’s Church
Leipzig and St Martin’s Church Taucha in
September 2007 represented special highlights
for the choir.
This September, they will perform the classic
pieces “Deutsche Messe” (German Mass)
by Franz Schubert and the “Könungsmesse”
by W. A. Mozart together with the Taucha choirs
in Taucha as well as in the Leipzig Reformed Church.
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| Volkschor
Taucha e.V
Taucha, Germany
Volkschure Taucha e.V made its
first public appearance in Leipzig in 1975. In
the following years, the choir, under the direction
of Miss Helga List successfully performed in a
variety of concerts in the area. In 1990 Miss
Katrin Gerstner took over the artistic leadership
of the choir and through her love of music, hard
work and determination the choir has continued
to develop their repertoire, which includes German
folk songs and traditional well-known songs from
around the world. The choir is very much part
of the cultural life of Taucha and also in the
twin city of Taucha Chadrac / Espaly in France
where they have performed in 1998 and 2004. Currently
the choir has 34 members.
www.volkschor-taucha.de
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Wycombe
High School Choir
Wycombe, United Kingdom
The Music Department at Wycombe High
School plays a very active part in
the life of the school through its many extra
curricular activities as well as in its academic
achievements. The girls who take part in the
music tours are all members of various senior
groups; the Chamber Choir, a Senior Orchestra
and a Concert Band. The school holds various
music festivals and concerts throughout the
year and in addition, they perform at ‘outside’
venues and events. Their visit to Leipzig will
be the ninth European tour the choir have undertaken
following visits to Salzburg, Krakow, Bratislava,
Prague. They are really excited about the Leipzig
Festival, especially as they will be joining
forces with other performers from other countries.
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www.whs.bucks.sch.uk
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