[Source: INTERKULTUR] From May 14-22, 2022, Calella and Barcelona, two of the most popular destinations on Spain's Costas de Barcelona, will once again be dedicated to choral music: With SING FOR GOLD and the final round for the World Choral Cup, INTERKULTUR presents a new event that will inspire choirs and from all over the world and their audience alike!

World Choral Cup along the lines of sporting competitions

SING FOR GOLD is an international choral competition where choirs will not only sing for medals and a place in the INTERKULTUR World Rankings – but where it gets really exciting in a final round: The best choirs from 10 different competition categories will once again compete in front of the jury and sing for the golden winner's trophy – the World Choral Cup, which will be awarded for the first time in 2022!   

INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch: "With this new event we are fulfilling the wish of many choirs to take home a World CUP of choral music for once, following the example of other sports competitions. The fact that we will come to Calella and Barcelona with this idea in 2022 is for us the crowning of our concept!"

Since 2012, the annual choir competition "Canta al mar - Festival Coral Internacional" in Calella had become one of INTERKULTUR's most popular choir events. Bringing a completely new format to the city for its 10th choir competition seems thus natural: "An exciting new competition awaits the international choir community in a place they got to know and love a long time ago, “says Günter Titsch.

Calella's mayor Montserrat Candini i Puig is pleased about the opportunities that this competition offers for the town: Calella is a city open to the world, open to tourism and open to culture. A welcoming city, that materializes all these values with events as important as Sing for Gold, reinforcing the city's commitment as a tourist destination, especially as a cultural tourist destination.”

Calella and Barcelona are popular destinations for choirs

Along with Calella, the popular metropolis of Barcelona will also be among the host cities for the competition. Both cities have been firmly in the repertoire of INTERKULTUR events for a decade now. Sunny weather, long sandy beaches, walking distances, as well as attractive cultural events and performance opportunities in Barcelona make this festival an unforgettable experience for all participants every year.

All information about SING FOR GOLD - The World Choral Cup is now available at www.interkultur.com/calella2022

INTERKULTUR is the world’s leading organizer of international choir competitions and festivals, bringing together more than 10,000 choirs and nearly half a million singers over the last 30 years. People of all countries, cultures and worldviews come together in peaceful competition, celebrating the motto: “Singing together brings nations together”.

“Singers and choirs are very eager to travel and we like to work with cities around the world on forward-looking ideas for them,” Hans-Robert Dapprich Director Communications, Marketing and Sales, INTERKULTUR told Host City in an exclusive video interview.

“Our unique events are not only a wonderful experience for singers from all over the world but also for the welcoming host cities and their citizens.”

Cultural events of this kind benefit the host cities in many ways: marketing, business, networking and contributing to the urban development.

“The host cities and regions are the focus of the events. They are the greatest incentive for the choirs to make the sometimes very long journeys,” Dapprich explained.

Cities vibrate with music and life

A major event like the World Choir Games can attract more than 70 nations, 30,000 participants and an additional 300,000 visitors.

“They bring money to your city, visit the restaurants and connect with your citizens. This of course does not only apply to the big events, but also to the smaller festivals and competitions, to which numerous singers from all over the world travel and fill your city with life.

“The host cities are transformed into a wonderful, colourful spectacle where singing and sound are everywhere. The cities vibrate with music and life. The streets, restaurants and squares are filled with international sounds and spontaneous singing.”

For the host cities, these experiences are reflected in the far-reaching economic impact in tourism, culture, retail and hospitality – and of course, a large international media presence.

Andris Berzins, former president of Latvia put it this way after hosting the World Choir Games 2014 as well as the European Choir Games in 2017 in Riga: “Of course, this is the best marketing for a country – showing our strengths and actually expanding our international contacts.”

Reuniting the world

Another high-profile endorsement comes from Barack Obama, former President of the United States, who said in support of the World Choir Games 2012 in Cincinnati: “Events like the World Choir Games remind us of choral music’s power to transcend languages, cultures and borders to reveal our shared humanity.”

INTERKULTUR’s founder and president, Günter Titsch, was driven by the idea of a worldwide connection of people from all cultures on the wings of music – bringing together choirs and singers of all ages, colour or ideology in peaceful competition. Such ideals should resonate with audiences who are becoming increasingly concerned about the values of the events they support.

“By bringing people together – regardless of their origin, religion or world view, united by the universal language of music – we, the singers and the host cities and citizens contribute to bringing the world a little closer together,” said Dapprich.

“This is the essence of our work: it's not just about a competition or an event, it's about the people from all over the world, the exchange, the friendship and community – and of course a unique experience for locals and participants celebrating with the world together on one stage.”

Music, singing and live events have a great power to connect people, giving a sense of community. “That was missing last year and is still missing: the closeness to each other, concerts, singing together, but also travelling.”

While choral communities have taken many creative approaches to connect virtually, singing and performing together cannot be replaced.

“The choral world wants to sing again and to stand together on one stage. They want to meet again with singers from all over the world, they want to travel and explore new cultures and cities. And, together with you, we are ready to offer them exactly what they are looking for.”

With vaccination programmes well underway and many countries planning outdoor and cultural events in the summer, the indications are that the world will soon get a grip on the pandemic and that life will resume in some sort of new normality.

The 11^th World Choir Games, which had to be postponed from last summer, are taking place in Flanders, Belgium on 30 October to 7 November 2021. The upcoming World Choir Games in Gangneung, Korea 2022 and Auckland, New Zealand 2024 are also on the horizon. And there are regional events to attract choirs from every nation, every size and interest.

“The choral world wants to travel again and sing on the beautiful and appealing stages of this world. And for this, we would like to engage in conversation with cities around the world, whether you might be interested in a smaller competition to present your city or region, or it’s about the big events like the European Choir Games or Asia Pacific Choir Games.

“The target group of choirs and singers is very open and eager to travel, and we would like to show them the world together with you. Get in touch with us and send us an email. We are looking forward to it!”

To find out more about hosting and staging INTERKULTUR events, contact Hans-Robert Dapprich on dapprich@interkultur.com

[Source: www.interkultur.com] This week we received good news from Dr. Tim Sharp, representatives of the United States in the World Choir Council: He joins noteablemask.com as a spokesperson and thus supports the way back to live rehearsals and performances.

“Now that a vaccine is available and we know the science, we need to get back to choral singing,” says Sharp. “Group singing is part of our very soul. This is why I am pleased to partner as a spokesperson with noteablemask.com – so we can return to live rehearsals safely.” 

Tim Sharp is the past Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association and serves as Artistic Director of the Tulsa Chorale and as Director of Innovation at the Center for Community Arts Innovation in Nashville. He is on the Board of Directors for the International Federation for Choral Music and member of the Advisory Board of the World Choir Council.

Sharp is working with noteablemask.com in a campaign called “Join Your Voices,” which offers choral leaders a decision-making protocol with a responsible pathway for returning to live rehearsals and performances. The protocol is available as a free download at noteablemask.com/joinyourvoices   

In the return to live singing, individual face masks are critical. Such a face mask must capture the aerosol particles produced by a singer, but it must also allow a singer to inhale as freely as possible. 

According to Sharp, who has tried several singing masks, the Noteable mask is the one that provides the most viable option for group singing when used in conjunction with CDC guidelines. He is recommending Noteable as the face mask of choice for groups returning to live rehearsals. 

“When I heard that Tim Sharp had chosen our mask, I was thrilled,” said Tom Lough, inventor and developer of the Noteable mask. “We want to help with the safe return to live choral singing, and we are glad our mask and the ‘Join Your Voices’ campaign can be part of that recovery.” 

The Noteable singing mask has been independently tested by aerosol engineers at Colorado State University and Baylor University, and is made in the USA. For more information, see noteablemask.com.

Around the turn of the year 2019/2020, the first news about the novel coronavirus reached the world. China in particular, but also numerous other countries, found themselves in a difficult situation and everyday life came to a standstill. The virus continued to spread and new infections were reported daily.

The Chinese city of Wuhan was hit hardest at the beginning of the year. But the rapid spread of Covid-19 soon meant that the entire world had to face the pandemic and all the challenges it entailed. This globe-spanning crisis had a profound impact on humanity - and the choral world in particular. We all had to keep our distance - and yet we have moved closer together - even across national borders!

And then there was silence…

The pandemic brought public and private life to a standstill. In many places, a state of emergency was declared and a lockdown imposed. Stores, restaurants and cultural institutions had to close, and schools and workplaces were moved home.

This life at a distance also hit the choirs of this world especially hard. Concerts, festivals and even choir rehearsals had to be cancelled or postponed and stages remained silent. In most countries, choral life has come to a complete standstill and many choirs and choirmasters have lost their financial support and perspective. Li Peizhi, president of the Chinese Choral Association, described the feeling of these drastic impairments of everyday life in an interview as a “train that comes to an abrupt halt”.

In all areas of life and also in choral work, the technical possibilities of our time and global networking with the help of the Internet gained completely new relevance and significance from one moment to the next. The choirs around the globe did not lose confidence and developed ideas to continue to live out their passion for choral music, to maintain their choral community together with their fellow singers, to stay positive and to break new ground in terms of rehearsals - and the silence of the choral world did not last long.

…but not for long

Tim Sharp, a member of the Advisory Board of the World Choir Council, wrote in an interview that “singing not only gives something to the listener, but also to the individual singer. Singing requires us to use our bodies and connects us directly to our emotional lives.

Every single aspect of the singing process is physical. And, while the experience of singing is highly individual, choral singing connects and harmonizes these individual sounds into a community.“

Music is a powerful, courage-giving force that connects people and inspires spirits. In many places around the world, music was played together just as the pandemic began. Neighbourhoods sang together on their balconies, at their windows or on the street and grew closer. This community at a distance, this community in music and song, has also given hope to many people.

The choirs were particularly limited in their work and could only meet virtually. But they got creative and took advantage of the new technologies: choir rehearsals online, classes at home in the living room, virtual choir projects, video premieres instead of performances in concert halls.

Besides all these creative projects and new approaches to choral work, this time of special challenges has also brought the choral community closer together.

The (choral) world has come closer together

Of course, all these approaches and the virtual choir projects cannot replace the community of the choir and the experience of a live performance, but they have given confidence to the singers of this world. New ways were tried out to continue learning together and to continue singing together.

With the help of workshops, online tutorials or direct exchange in social networks or forums, choirs and choir directors helped and supported each other.

Following INTERKULTUR's motto “Singing together brings nations together”, many choirs have also used these projects and collaborations to come together virtually with other choirs from all corners of the world.

The new possibilities of technologies were used extensively and became a popular tool to overcome creative self-isolation, which also affected the rehearsal process. Even though synchronous singing and choral rehearsals in large groups are technically impossible or difficult, the digital applications are a good opportunity to maintain social contacts and community.

Li Peizhi, president of the Chinese Choral Association, said in an interview, “I think people, and especially musicians, are using their ability and energy to express and transmit their emotions and their thoughts. [The] projects are wonderful because the message they send out is consistently positive and has made people realize the great power of music.”

This bond and solidarity that has united the choral world in recent months, even if only virtually, will hopefully accompany us in the future and we should continue to cherish it. What will the new normal look like after the pandemic?

The questions that now arise at the beginning of the new year, as vaccinations begin worldwide and (hopefully) with the end of the crisis in sight: What are the lessons we learn from this crisis? What impact will these experiences have on the choral world and how will choral work change?

Russian choral legend Vladimir Minin commented on this in an interview: “Digital technologies are a temporary means, a way out, a tool for information exchange - but nothing more. No technology can convey the living energy of the choir, and the subtle intricacies of the movement of its collective soul.“

Li Peizhi, President of the Chinese Choral Association, has a similar view: “These new forms of singing and online lectures are currently very popular all over the world. I personally think that this is a special countermeasure in a special time to satisfy the strong desire for singing. Choral singing is a fantastic way for people to communicate emotions, but this requires contact and time to rehearse. Therefore, it‘s imperative that we experience the artistic engagement that occurs in actual rehearsals to unleash the full beauty and charm of the choral art.“

Tim Sharp, a member of the Advisory Board of the World Choir Council, hopes “to be able to use these tools when we sing together again. I firmly believe that we will emerge from this time stronger, and we will also have learned how to teach and communicate with new tools that are appropriate for choral music education, performance, composition, and advocacy.”

Digital technologies are good and valuable tools for the current time and they will certainly be able to enrich choir work in certain areas in the future. However, it is also clear for the choral world that the virtual will not be the new normal. What is missing is the interpersonal aspect, the dynamics, the immediate communication with fellow singers - the essence of singing together that we all sorely miss.

We don‘t know what the future will look like, but we are confident that it will be beautiful and, above all, full of singing!

This editorial was written by Franziska Hellwig of INTERKULTUR, the world's leading organizer of international choir competitions and festivals. For more information visit www.interkultur.com

Singing is one of the most beautiful things in the world. It is healthy and makes people happy – whether as a singer or a listener. Without a song, the world would be silent.

Music and especially singing have always been a comfort to people in the darkest times. Be it the many spirituals describing the hardship of slavery, the Singing Revolution in the Baltic States, and, most recently, the many songs sounding from balconies in neighbourhoods all over the world at the beginnings of the current pandemic.

There are an estimated 37 million choir singers in Europe alone, with millions more scattered all over the world. All have been suffering from restrictions since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but at the same time it quickly became obvious that the choir singers not only handled the given circumstances with high responsibility, but also got immensely creative in keeping their community alive: choirs were among the first to create fun and emotional virtual music videos when social distancing started to become the name of the game.

And especially this high spirit of hope and confidence among the choral community will be the key to get out of the current situation. INTERKULTUR, as the world’s largest organizer of international choir competitions and festivals all over the world, comprises a strong network of choir singers, conductors and musical institutions all around the world. Its events are an experience of international communication – connected through the universal language of music. Whether in Hoi An (Vietnam), Barcelona (Spain), Princeton (USA), Vienna (Austria), or Guangzhou/Canton (China), at more than 230 international events in the last 30 years INTERKULTUR has brought people together from 107 countries, regardless their origin, religion or world view. And every two years INTERKULTUR organises the world’s largest international choir competition in different cities on different continents: the World Choir Games, known as the Olympics of Choral Music.

Three World Choir Games editions are already in preparation, holding the spirits among the choral community high during an ongoing global low. The outlook on celebrating the World Choir Games in Flanders, Belgium (2021), Gangneung, Republic of Korea (2022) and Auckland, New Zealand (2024) are exciting goals to approach with new motivation.

And there is hardly any other event that visualises so clearly why arts and culture are sorely needed here, in a deeply troubled world.

Anyone who has witnessed a World Choir Games event on site will immediately understand how this unique event for this special group of people is able to inspire an entire city and an entire community with an unprecedented spirit of music, culture and international community. The World Choir Games is an occasion to experience the most beautiful sounds and emotions of humanity: listening to music from all over the world, watching singers in traditional costumes presenting their individual cultures, and meeting people from countries one could barely visit in a lifetime. Together, all participants, residents and visitors are celebrating a great festival of music, song and joie de vivre – all at one single place, in the World Choir Games host city.

An unforgettable experience for all involved and especially for the host city itself! You can find more information here: http://host.worldchoirgames.com

“The world has changed how we consume sports and entertainment. I’m lucky to be between the two and see both sides,” composer Matt Clifford says. “One of the first things I said to UEFA when I started working with them was, you know all these stadiums – I’ve played in them with the Rolling Stones.”

How do you get to join the Rolling Stones? “Like anything in life it’s like being in the right place at the right time,” he says.

Thirty years ago, Clifford was recording with a producer, Chris Kimsey, whose next project was a Rolling Stones record, Steel Wheels – which went on to achieve multi-platinum sales. “He saw me as someone who would fit in with working with those people. I was sent off to Barbados where Mick and Keith were working at that time. I walked in and said is this the gig, and Mick says yes, every Thursday night – so off we went. And the next day I was having lunch with Princess Margaret on the beach in Mustique!”

There are very close parallels between the way sports events and entertainment events are presented in a stadium. He went to the Stade de France recently to watch France versus England in the Six Nations, five years after playing there with the Rolling Stones.

“It’s very much the same thing. There is this incredible sense of anticipation, and the emotion that it unleashes in a crowd of 50 or 60 thousand people. It’s very much the same experience waiting for a big concert as waiting for the Champions League final, when you are walking up and see the lights. It’s extraordinary, you get the same buzz and excitement from both.

An element of spontaneity helps to create these levels of excitement in both sport and music. “You don’t know the outcome either way – you don’t know who is going to win the match, or which songs the band is going to play.

“With a band like the Stones it’s all about live performance, it’s all in the moment. There’s a lot of unpredictability with the Stones. You have to keep your wits about you! There are moments on stage with the Rolling Stones where, after 60 years, they’ll be out playing a song, something will go wrong, Mick will turn around to Charlie Watts and they are exactly still the same 18-year-olds who played in a tiny club in Richmond in London, and they’ve kept that alive. You see the same thing on the football pitch – that extraordinary telepathy that elevates it to a different level.

“There are so many parallels between music and sport. You have soloists, you have great teams. A rock group is all about being a team and knowing what your role is.

“The infrastructure is the same, you need many of the same facilities and we use many of the same suppliers”

But the way people consume and experience sports and music has changed immensely over Clifford’s career.

“The live experience has changed on technical levels. The sound reproduction and the experience of a concert is incredibly different – with HD LED screens and incredible lighting. PAs are smaller and so much better.”

But when it comes to sports events there is still much room for development of the audio experience, he says. “It’s an area that could be improved, especially now there is a lot of broadcasting in surround sound.

“So much of the experience when you go to a game is the sound. And the volume, when you’ve got a band playing here and another band over there, is extraordinary. It’s difficult technically because when you are watching you have to hear the commentary.”

Bringing gravitas and energy to event experiences

When not on the road with the Stones, Clifford writes anthems and official music for major sports events, which play a huge role in the event experience. Music is used in many different ways and for different moments on TV, on online platforms and in the venue.

“You come in as the composer and present two or three very different ideas, which are passed through several very large committees at a glacial pace. Because music is such a subjective thing, everyone on a committee will have a different emotional reaction to it. Once you’ve gone through that process and got the approval, the next stage begins, which is being able to do all these difference versions for different purposes, at different lengths and at different tempos, but keeping the brand theme. I find that exciting and challenging.

“When you get a brief for music for sport they often give the same words – inspiring, powerful, spirit of togetherness – but every sport is different, so you have to find that essence, the energy that is going to contribute to a broadcast of a live event.”

Clifford’s musical background was in the classical world, growing up playing in orchestras and singing  as a choirboy in Gloucester cathedral – a world apart from sports.

“Italia ’90, where the BBC used Nessun Dorma as the theme music, was almost the first time that you used the gravitas and emotion that you get from classical music to go behind sport and take it to another level. Before that, football songs had mainly been pop songs.”

Once again, Clifford found himself in the right place at the right time. He was hired in 2003 by the anthem creator Tony Britten to modernize the Champions League theme – probably the most recognisable sports audio brand.

“It’s the theme that everyone aspires to – everyone would love to have that recognition. Tony Britten who composed the piece was inspired by Zadok the Priest by George Frederic Handel – and he absolutely hit the nail on the head. With my experience of working with different genres of music I was able to extend the reach of the Champions League music.”

For example, Clifford’s added a modern beat to the recognisable choir element for the walk-on music. Another key moment in a sports event is the cup lift.

“The first Champions League final I was invited to was 2005 in Istanbul, which is still the most amazing game I’ve ever been to. When Steven Gerrard lifted the cup, they played a piece of music I had written, which was amazing.”

Clifford also composed the anthem for the Six Nations, combining instruments from all of the six nations, which is played in the stadiums at every Six Nations game. He also worked with FIFA 2010 in South Africa, for which he won the pitch as part of a graphics company. As a result, he was able to take Mick Jagger as his guest, “to watch England being knocked out against Germany, despite a disallowed goal that was clearly over the line. Mr Blatter was very friendly before the game, but after the game we couldn’t find him at all!”

Clifford has never written an anthem for a club. “I think that would be a tricky situation – it’s like you’re trying to impose something. You can do that on the top level – the global level, or the broadcast level – but to say to fans you should sing this on the terraces, that’s not the right way to go.”

Fans tend to choose their own songs anyway. “Sometimes the song relates to football, but I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles – where does that come from? There are these associations that just happen. They are so ingrained into the culture of the club – when you listen to Liverpool fans singing You’ll Never Walk Alone at the Champions League final it’s amazing.”

This exclusive interview was conducted by Ben Avison of Host City at Global Sports Week, following Matt Clifford’s Meet the Artist Q&A