Choir conductors seminar: a great success

It’s just the beginning

Saturday evening the conductors seminar week in Guangzhou, host city of the 1st Xinghai Prize International Choir Championships closed with a big concert. From March 12 to 17, 2012 more than 220 choir conductors from China, Malaysia and Indonesia attended several seminars and workshops to learn more Western choral music.

The participants presented what they had learned in both seminars and Master Class during the last days. They performed pieces from all around the world; two students of the Master Class conducted the demonstration choir of the seminar week.

INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch said about the closing of the seminar week: “It’s overwhelming to see that people go on the trip and take time to attend this week of seminars. We’re happy to have this growing appreciation for our pedagogical offers from INTERKULTUR and we’re going to offer more topics to many interested choir conductors in China and whole Asia also in the future.”

After Christian Ljunggren, Artistic director for INTERKULTUR and responsible director of the seminar series awarded Diplomas and Certificates to the participants and choir members the evening’s concert was following. A selection of international songs from Greece, Africa, France, Denmark and China thrilled the audience. Seminar participants and demonstration choir performed under the direction of Zimfira Poloz (Canada) and Christian Ljunggren.

Not only the audience was fascinated, also seminar leaders were overwhelmed. Zimfira Poloz: “The participant’s thirst of knowledge and their enthusiasm for music is simply overwhelming. They wanted to learn more and more, that’s fantastic.” Gábor Hollerung said about the seminar week: “I was thrilled. The participants flashed into action, absorbed every advice, every new information. They added them to their basics and were able to implement these new disciplines immediately. Fantastic!”

INTERKULTUR has already offered five seminars in China in the past. The series of pedagogical offers by INTERKULTUR will be continued in a symposium about children and youth choirs during the upcoming event in Guangzhou in November 2012:
The 1st Xinghai Prize International Choir Championships (November 8 to 24, 2012).