The Macao Youth Choir of the School of Music of the Macao Conservatory, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, was recently (from 5 July to 12 July) in Sochi, Russia to participate the 9th World Choir Games, where the Choir won gold medals in three categories of the Champions Competition – Children’s Choirs, Musica Sacra with accompaniment and Folklore a cappella – and claimed fourth place in Musica Sacra with accompaniment. The awards ceremony was held at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi.
The biennial World Choir Games, hailed as the Olympic Games for choristers, is the most influential and the world’s largest international choir competition. Under the baton of its conductor and Director of the School of Music, Liu Mingyan, the Macao Youth Choir participated in the 9th World Choir Games in Sochi, Russia. 44 members of the Choir participated in the Champions Competition in the categories of Children's Choirs, Musica Sacra with accompaniment and Folklore a cappella in three consecutive days, competing with choirs from all over the world for the acclaim of the highest honour in the world.
A total of 283 choirs from 76 nations and regions participated in the event, consisting of the Open Competition and the Champions Competition. The former encourages participation without set prerequisites for the choirs, while the latter is only open to gold medallists of international competitions. The Macao Youth Choir participated in three categories of the “Champions Competition” this year. Among 12 choral works specially selected by Liu Mingyan for the competition, some difficult and challenging pieces were included. The Choir eventually overcame a variety of drawbacks and rendered fabulous performances in all categories. The members of the jury were impressed by the intonation, timbre and artistic style of the Choir’s performances.
The success of winning three gold medals in this international competition in Russia was also due to the parents’ cooperation and the support of the Cultural Affairs Bureau and of members from different sectors, which made it an absolutely memorable and precious experience for choir members. Notwithstanding it was a crucial time for the students’ school final examinations, the members of the Macao Youth Choir, who came from local primary and secondary schools, committed to the practice for the competition two and three times per week. It was even the first time some choir members participated in the competition; the youngest member is nine years old. Others especially cherished this opportunity to contribute in their last competition as a choir member because of the age limit.
In recent years, the Macao Youth Choir has won gold medals in several international competitions, and their artistic achievement won worldwide recognition from choristers. The Choir will continue to have a steady development and disseminate the unique cultural essence of Macao through music.