Macau Youth Choir wins gold medals in World Choir Games

The Youth Choir of the Macau Conservatory School of Music participated in the 9th World Choir Games in Sochi, Russia earlier this month, coming home with three gold medals.
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.
Under the supervision of its conductor and director of the School of Music, Liu Mingyan, 44 members of the choir participated in the Champions Competition in the three aforementioned categories over three consecutive days, competing with choirs from all over the world for the acclaim of the highest honor.
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 medalists of international competitions.
“Among 12 choral works specially selected by Liu Mingyan for the competition, some difficult and challenging pieces were included,” read a statement from the Cultural Bureau (IC).
The members of the Macau Youth Choir, who came from local primary and secondary schools, committed to practicing for the competition two to three times per week. For some choir members, it was their first time participating in the competition.
In recent years, the Youth Choir has won gold medals in several international competitions, with their achievement gaining worldwide recognition from choristers.
IC said that the ensemble would continue to have a steady development and to disseminate the unique cultural essence of the region through music.