AUDIENCES were treated to a welcome display of camaraderie at the Australian Open Choral Challenge held by the Australian National Eisteddfod in Llewellyn Hall on Saturday, as rival groups cheered and applauded their peers.
Although the main prize of $3000 in the open challenge went to the Waratah Girls’ Choir from Newcastle, adjudicator Marianne Rigby-Black was quick to point out the “breathtaking” quality of all the choirs on show, as she outlined her focus on intonation, balance expression and degree of difficulty in judging the finalists.
Ms Rigby-Black drew special attention to Sydney’s Shine Chorus, a large group of choristers drawn from the Korean community, which focuses on sacred music. The quality of the conducting by Jung Hye Kim and the sheer quality of their work she thought augured well for the future of multicultural participation in competitions.
Squeals and cries of excitement emanated from the Waratah choir as, by process of elimination, they realise they were going to win.
The choir of 26 girls, which regularly participates in the National Eisteddfod, won the Challenge with three contrasting works – “Drought” by Stephen Leek (who now lives in Canberra), “Sansai a Dori” (a traditional Japanese folksong) and the jazz standard “Blue Skies”, jusged to be at the same level as leading groups in the national Choralfest.
Canberra’s entertaining Brindabella Chorus won second place, with Kompactus Youth Choir and Shine Chorus both given highly commended mentions. Waratah Girls’ Choir also won the Open Popular Choirs and Open Contemporary Choirs sections.
The other section winners were:
Canberra choirs – Luminescence Chamber Singers (Open Choral Group), Radford College Camerata (20 Years and Under Championship and Open Sacred Choirs), ANU Vocal Fry Junior and Senior High Fries (ACT 20 Years and Under Choirs), ACT Primary Concert Choir (12 Years and Under Championship) and The Harmonic Means (Open Australia-Britain Choirs).
In the School aged sections, which are not competitive, the ACT Primary Concert Choir and Radford College Chorale were both given Platinum awards for outstanding performance.
While awaiting the adjudication, Australian National Eisteddfod Sylvia Tulloch stressed the importance of enjoyment in the annual event.
The full list of results is as follows:
Australian Open Choral Challenge
1st Place: Waratah Girls Choir
2nd Place: Brindabella Chorus
Highly Commended: Kompactus Youth Choir and Shine Chorus
Open Choral Group (up to 15 members)
1st Place: Luminescence Chamber Singers
2nd Place: Debacle Quartet
Highly Commended: ANU Vocal Senior High Fries
20 Years and Under Championship
1st Place: Radford College Camerata
Highly Commended: ANU Vocal Fry Senior High and Deep Fried Fries
12 Years and Under Championship
1st Place: ACT Primary Concert Choir
2nd Place: Barker College Copeland Choir
Highly Commended: Radford College Vox
1st Place: ANU Vocal Fry Junior and Senior High Fries
Open Sacred Choirs
1st Place: Radford College Camerata
2nd Place: Waratah Girls Choir
Highly Commended: Strange Weather Gospel Choir
Open Popular Choirs
1st Place: Waratah Girls Choir
2nd Place: Brindabella Chorus
Highly Commended: Andante Andante
1st Place: Waratah Girls Choir
Open Australia-Britain Choirs
1st Place: The Harmonic Means (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Primary School Age Choirs (Years K-2)
The Anglican School Googong Choir – Gold award
Primary School Age Choirs (Years 5-6)
Canberra Grammar Primary School CGS Singers – Silver award
Queanbeyan Public School Choir – Gold Award
ACT Primary Concert Choir – Platinum Award
Primary School Age Choirs (Kindergarten to Year 6)
Barker College Copeland Choir (Primary/High School Age) – Gold Award
High School Age Choirs (Years 7-10)
Lyneham High Voices – Gold Award
Gold Creek School Vocal Group – Bronze Award
High School/College Age Choirs (Years 7-12)
Daramalan College (High School/College Age) – Silver Award
Radford College Chorale (High School/College Age) – Platinum Award
ACT Music Educators Network Conductor Development Award: Prudence Harrison (Queanbeyan Public School Choir).
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