The World united in Music: World Choir Council General Conference 2024

The day between the two parts of the World Choir Games is traditionally the day for the General Conference of the World Choir Council. During the World Choir Games 2024 it took place in HYUNDAI Marine Sports Center bringing together representatives from the World Choir Council, which is consisting of almost 150 choral experts from 95 countries and regions, in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The conference was organized as a hybrid event and was such also joined by members of the World Choir Council worldwide, which were not able to attend in person.

The conference began with a welcome reception and a little surprise for the international guests: The Ahuuranui Tahitian Dance School presented traditional music, singing and dancing from Tahiti, and even made the international guests dancing and clapping along. The response was impressive, so Günter Titsch, President of INTERKULTUR, the World Choir Games and the World Choir Council, felt inspired to welcome the participants in a humorous way by addressing them as the “World Dancing Council” in his official opening speech afterwards.

In his speech Günter Titsch further emphasized the Council's role in providing valuable advice and guidance to INTERKULTUR and the World Choir Events in navigating the world of choral music and to engage for the quality and development of INTERKULTUR’s work. He emphasized that compared with the founding times of the World Choir Council back in 2000, the panel now also plays an important role regarding the creative, artistic aspects of INTERKULTUR events.

Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson was then giving a welcome speech on behalf of Auckland City Council, in which she highlighted that hosting the World Choir Council is significant to the city as a highlight for Auckland to showcase a vibrant choral scene on an international stage. She said, it was a unique opportunity to share traditions and the love for music while reaching out to the city’s community and inspiring generations of future singers.

In recognition of the city’s support and commitment to the World Choir Games 2024, President Günter Titsch on behalf of INTERKULTUR and the World Choir Council awarded the title “World Choir Games City” to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and handed over the certificate to Deputy Mayor Simpson.

Further recognition and honors went out to Christine Argyle, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Choral Federation, and John Rosser, Games & Artistic Director of the World Choir Games 2024 and representative of New Zealand in the World Choir Council, for their outstanding support and collaboration in the event preparation.

Afterwards, President Günter Titsch and First Vice President Wang Qin on behalf of INTERKULTUR and the World Choir Council honored those representatives of the World Choir Council as Honorary Members who have been contributing with great efforts and for more than 10 years to the further development of the World Choir Council: Chen Guanghui (China), Prof. Yang Li (China) and Mat Wright (Great Britain).

As representatives of the host country, Christine Argyle together with Melissa Absolum (New Zealand Choral Federation) and jury member Igelese Ete from New Zealand/Samoa, gave all participants an insight into the history and style of the choral culture in New Zealand and all their various influences of different cultures and people. They included the early beginnings of choral music (brought by British settlers), explained the first Māori choir established as well as the fusion of Māori and European traditions, the characteristics of Kapa Haka, the term use for Māori Performing Arts, and also gave an insight into the strong tradition of Pacific Church Choirs.

After these interesting insights, it was time to look into the future: Which aims do INTERKULTUR and the World Choir Council have for 2025, for example regarding the European Choir Games and Grand Prix of Nations 2025 in Aarhus, Denmark?

On July 16, the second day of the World Choir Council, its members met again for presentations on various topics from the choral scene and choral life in their countries: Dr. Michael Barrett, member of the World Choir Council from South Africa and Artistic Director of the African Asia Pacific Choir Games 2025 in Mauritius, spoke about the future of choral events and festivals, while Susanna Saw, representative for Malaysia in the World Choir Council, looked at the possibilities of standardized evaluation criteria. In addition, Prof. Zhang Xin, President of the Guangzhou Choral Association from China, examined how the local choral scene has changed - especially for people with special needs - after Guangzhou was named “World Choir Capital City”. In addition, Dr. Cristian Grases, choral music expert from Venezuela/USA, spoke about health and mental health in the context of choral singing. All these topics were further discussed in smaller groups in various discussion rounds in order to promote international exchange and to inform about current developments in the choral scene worldwide, as well as to discuss possible goals and suggestions for improvement for the future.

The General Conference of the World Choir Council 2024 ended with a special program highlight: At the “Sister Choirs Friendship Flashmob” in the Aotea Centre, the choirs “Leonessa” from New Zealand, “Shenzhen Futian Star Bright Choir” from China and “Farnham Youth Choir” from Great Britain gave a surprise concert for all guests and passers-by. True to the motto “Singing Together Brings Nations Together”, they invited all choral experts present to sing a traditional New Zealand song together - an emotional moment at the end of this year's General Conference of the World Choir Council.

In the presence of all guests, the three choirs from New Zealand, China and Great Britain also received a certificate that officially recognizes them all as “Sister Choirs” to bring them together and connect them with each other.

This flash mob was part of the series “World Choir Events in the Belt and Road” within the framework of the 13th World Choir Games. It was jointly launched by the INTERKULTUR Organizing Committee of the World Choir Games 2024 together with the New Zealand partners and supported by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in New Zealand, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China International Friendship Cities Association.

Further information about the World Choir Council and its representatives from all over the world can be found here.