A US Choir Champion in Tolosa.

The ensemble of mixed voices beat three other groups in a round of high level and intense competition. The Turk choir Bilkent University Choir of Ankara didn’t show up at the last minute and may be penalized.

Tolosa. DV. The North American ensemble, University of Utah Singers, from Salt Lake City, was designated yesterday as the best choir of European competitions when they won the Grand Prize of Choral Singing. The Polideportivo Usabal of Tolosa was the stage of this competition of competitions in which this mixed ensemble went head to head with three other European choirs, two from Hungary and one from Norway. Because the Turkish ensemble Bilkent University Choir of Ankara that represented the Varna competition did not attend at the last minute, only 4 were the contestants of this competition.

As the president of the jury for the competition of Choral Mases of Tolosa, Enrique Azurza, pointed out “we don’t know what has happened. They allegedly had travel problems, but that is no excuse. If they had told us we could have assigned a substitute, but in this case it wasn’t possible and the competition of Varna remained unrepresented. Unless they justify their behavior they will not be allowed to participate in any choral competition in the European Circuit for two years.”

The absence of the Turkish choir didn’t change the fact that the Grand European Prize, which is celebrated every six years in the host cities of the international choral competitions –Gorizia, Debrecen, Tours, Arezzo, Varna and Tolosa--, and where all their respective winners attend, was a great success.

The American choir that won at the Tours Competition and that yesterday obtained the victory with 673 points over a total of 700, was in charge of placing the very first sounds at a warm Usabal that was practically full. Created recently and comprised of 25 women and 20 men the American group interpreted a varied program, in which they included an expressive Ave Maria by Javier Busto, who was part of the jury yesterday. The composer himself, conductor of Hondarribitarra, pointed out at the end of the competition that the choir won him over. “To me it was clearly the winning choir. At least it was the one that I enjoyed the most. They worked very well, were very well prepared and had a great spirit. Their expression, the work of their conductor that knows how and when to squeeze the best out of the choir, and the concentration of each choir member has marveled me. It’s a young choir, very fresh, vocally amazing and with a very good balance between men and women.

The next ensemble to participate in the European Grand Prize of Choral Singing was the Hungarian of mixed voices Victoria Chamber Choir. The group came to Tolosa representing the competition of Gorizia (Italy). With a smaller number of ten men and ten women, it opened its performance with a piece, Dum Competerur, by the composer that the choir is named after, the Spaniard Tomás Luis de Victoria. The choir interpreted a varied program that included two impressive works by their conductor Adam Cser.

After them, their countrywomen, Cantemus Children’s Choir, took the stage, 46 young women that attended as the winners of Arezzo (Italy). For their performance they chose a varied program that featured the very sweet Aver Maria by Franz Biebl, however they also included pieces in other styles such as the renaissance piece Una Hora by Victoria, and Pange Lingua by György Orbán. Their musicality compelled the Tolosa audience to give them a great ovation.

The last choir to compete in the European grand prize was the one who won the Choral Masses Competition of Tolosa, the Norwegian Schola Cantorum. The mixed voice ensemble comprised of 30 singers offered an irregular performance in which they interpreted works by Nystedt, Brahms, Hermann Schein and Martin.

The jury, integrated by the conductor of the Community Choir of Madrid, Jordi Casas as president, the Italians Mauro Chiocci and Roberto Gabbiani, the French Richard Safir, the Bulgarian Martin Chonev, the Hungarian Máté Szabó Sípos, and Javier Busto, recognized the high quality of the participating choirs. “In general the level has been high”, declared Javier Busto at the end of the competition. “All the groups are of magnificent quality and even though the Norwegian choir wasn’t as outstanding as in the Choral Masses Competition of Tolosa, they have performed good music. Furthermore, the programs the choirs chose have been very interesting and not at all heavy for the audiences, with entertaining pieces and some gorgeous.

The stage of the Polideportivo Usabal received the congressman for Social and Institutional Relations Fernando Tapia, the vice-chairman of INAEM Antonio Garde, the Cultural Advisor of the Vasco Government Miren Azkarate, and the mayor of Tolosa Jokin Bildarratz, to bestow the finalists’ trophies to the 4 participants. After the reading of the jury’s decision members of the American choir went up, full of emotion, to receive their title as winners of the Great European Prize of Choral Singing.