The adjudicators for the division, running over Friday and Saturday, August 21 and 22, will be the head of the ANU School of Music, Peter Tregear, and the distinguished Sydney music educator, Elizabeth Scott.

At a recent launch in the Ainslie Arts Centre, the new choirs’ convenor, Danny Kozak, said the Eisteddfod demonstrated how important music was in the lives of our children as they strove for excellence.

After a performance by young pianist and composer, Caleb Campbell, choral director Greta Claringbould took up the baton to conduct young members of the Canberra Youth Choir in a trio of choral works, including the amusing 1920s song, “When I Take my Sugar to Tea”.

In Kozak’s view, elitism in music was not enough and growth should be as wide as it is high. To that end, this year’s choirs division in the Eisteddfod will feature more under-12 choirs than before and a new ACT 18 years and under section, with prizemoney augmented by a donation from Dr JO Ward, of Sydney. All primary choirs will receive a certificate with either a gold or silver grading for their performance and there will be one first prize awarded for each section.

A committee member told “CityNews” that this year it was expected that the Choral Challenge would feature a more popular, entertaining style of choral music and there would be a special $1000 prize for the best performance of a multicultural piece, a work originally performed in a language other than English.

President of the Australian National Eisteddfod, Sylvia Tulloch, recalled how she competed in the Sydney Eisteddfod when she was young, confirming her commitment to the eisteddfod phenomenon by personally taking over convenorship of the speech and drama section this year.

Convenor of the piano division, which runs from August 17 to 21, Di Miley was also on hand for the launch.

Choirs Division, Friday and Saturday, August 21-22, Llewellyn Hall. Details at nationaleisteddfod.org.au