Choir singers performing on stage © Studi43

5 Benefits of Joining Choir Competitions for Singers

Here are the biggest reasons you should jump into the competition!

About Choir Singing

Do you want to supercharge your singing and take your choir to new heights? Then you have to join choir competitions!

You already know that singing in a choir has so many benefits. It is proven to help your body, mind, and soul. And competitions create the right mix of factors to push these farther than ever. That’s not to mention all the excitement they bring to your choir!

Below, we’ve assembled the five biggest benefits of joining choir competitions.

1. Competition Improves the Quality of the Choir

Probably the most immediate benefit you’ll notice is in the overall quality of your choir’s singing. Competition gives people incentive to show up at their best, motivating them to push through plateaus and put in all the extra work to really hone in their singing.

When everyone in a choir is in this mode during the lead up to a competition, you can really hear a difference. You’ll also feel the difference in the room. There is a greater sense of purpose, as everyone is hoping to outperform the other choirs — plus, they don’t want to let their fellow singers down!

You might call this “leaning in.” More of your singers become more engaged, and that makes the whole group more cohesive.

2. Events Broaden Your Horizons

Competitions are a great reminder to choirs that they need to stretch themselves to take on new challenges. Depending on the competition and the structure of the event, choir competitions can give you the perfect nudge into trying out pieces you might never have thought of before.

You’ll also hear a lot more other choirs when you go to events, and their repertoire will broaden the perspective of every member of your choir. That gives you even more options to choose from when trying to freshen up what you offer judges the next time you compete.

The more things you learn and accomplish together, the more tools you have in your disposal. And that means there are even more pieces you can try out. It’s a feedback loop that keeps making your choir better!

3. Competing Improves Teamwork

Choirs are a team. And one of the best ways for teams to come together is with a shared goal. While performances do this already, competitions heighten the stakes. Let’s face it: we all love to win!

Facing greater stakes gives people more of a reason to show up 100% for their fellow singers. And as a choir gets their performance really nailed down as a competition nears, you’ll find that they get much more in sync than ever before.

4. Success Strengthens Community

When your choir competes, there is a chance that they win. And when they do, this can be a wonderful accomplishment felt throughout your entire community. The pride of taking home the gold is incredibly satisfying for singers and conductors alike, and it also raises your local profile.

The more that your community sees the choir as its representative, the more that sense of togetherness spreads from the singers on the risers to the entire area. Pretty soon, you’ll see much better attendance at performances and more interest when you are looking for new singers.

Inside the choir itself, community is strengthened through winning. The value of coming together is felt much more deeply — leading to more commitment in the long term.

5. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!

The main reason groups don’t join choir competitions is that they’ve simply never done it before. And let’s be clear, it does add a couple headaches. You need to figure out registration, transportation, and often lodging. You also have to deal with the nerves of facing other choirs.

But these are good things for a choir to figure out. It ends up making them more capable, opening up opportunities that they might have never had before. A great showing at a competition can mean being invited to perform at important events, and it can grow the strength of your organization.

At the end of the day, getting out of your comfort zone means taking a major step forward in your choir’s development. Who knows where it will end up?

All Good For Benefits Joining Choir Competitions?

It’s no secret that INTERKULTUR believes in the importance of choir competitions. Our calendar of events is filled with competitions that see choristers from all over the world vying for that top spot.

In our more than 30 years of organizing these events, we’ve seen the benefits for choirs over and over again. If you haven’t taken the leap into choir competitions — maybe this is the year to do it!

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