Amaranthe – INTERKULTUR’s Best Chamber Choir

In November last year Amaranthe was crowned the most successful choir in the 11th World Choir Games Flanders 2021 and achieved one of the highest  results in the history of the competition to date.

The women’s choir from Oudenaarde in East Flanders under the direction of Johannes Dewilde won the title “Champion of the World Choir Games” not once, but twice. They achieved a score of 93  in the “Musica Contemporanea” category and a phenomenal score of 98.38 in the “Vocal Ensembles & Chamber Choirs of equal voices” category, the highest in the whole competition and close to the current World Record of 99 points, achieved by the current no. 1 in the World Rankings, South Africa’s Stellenbosch University Choir, at the 8th World Choir Games in Riga in 2014. Now, Amaranthe stands 6th in the overall INTERKULTUR World Rankings of choirs and 1st in the list of the “50 best ‘Chamber Choirs & Vocal Ensembles’”, the best place a Belgian choir has ever held. An outstanding result!

“We have no words to describe how we feel after participating in the World Choir Games. We loved every second and are proud of our achievement! A special mention and thanks to our conductor Johannes Dewilde: his fantastic qualities as a conductor ensure that he brings out the best in every choir member!”, states the choir on their website after their great success in Flanders.

The much-esteemed conductor Dewilde has received his deserving share of attention and has been described as “a highly gifted conductor and musician” who “creates a beautiful sound and knows how to enhance musical expression through his artistic gestures”. In the words of the American conductor Dr. Brady Allred, his choirs are “prize winners and his performances stunning” and Dewilde is “a talent to be watched and heard!”

Under his inspiring leadership, the 25 singers of Amaranthe want to conquer the world! They work passionately and relentlessly hard to bring audiences unique and exceptional programs that affirm the choir’s individuality, often assisted by top international coaches such as Panda Van Proosdij and Jolien De Gendt.

The choir’s excellent singing quality has been praised for its very compact sound, interesting timbre, perfect intonation and wonderful phrasing and intonation, making for an ever-inspiring and incredible interpretation for the audience. Their performance at the World Choir Games was said to be “one of the most impressive highlights” and that it made “music come alive”.

Founded in 2006, the choir is a close-knit group with an established and highly respected value in the choral and musical life in Flanders. Their interesting concert calendar is enriched with invitations from renowned national and foreign organizers as well as with cooperations in various projects with artists and organizations such as Nekkanacht (opening act Kadril), Johan Verminnen (CD 'Stemmen'), Koorlink, Vlaams Radio Koor conducted by Eric Whitacre, and others. All of these as well as the many wins in notable international choral competitions have made Amaranthe become increasingly prominent on the international choral scene.

Their latest result at the World Choir Games in Flanders have now confirmed that Amaranthe’s initial quest has been fulfilled – they have indeed conquered the world!

What will their next quest be?

Quick facts:

Choir: Amaranthe
Conductor: Johannes Dewilde
Founded: 2006
Country: Belgium
Repertoire: Classical and Contemporary a cappella
Accomplishments:

• Champion of the World Choir Games in the category “Musica Contemporanea” and in the category “Vocal ensembles and Chamber Choirs of equal voices” (World Choir Games 2021)
• Winner of the choral competition CantaRode, audience award, conductor award, Kerkrade (2018)
• Winner in the category 'equal-voiced choirs' (as the first Belgian choir ever) and best performance of the compulsory work, IKV Maasmechelen (2017)

WEB: http://amarantheoudenaarde.be
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Amaranthe.Oudenaarde
YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/AmarantheOudenaarde
SC: https://soundcloud.com/user-269377003