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June 10, 2005 -- The University of Utah Singers, a mixed choir
made up of 46 University students, recently brought home six awards—including
the grand prize—from the Florilege Vocal de Tour International
Choir Competition, held in Tours, France, on May 14 and 15. The
competition included 18 choirs from 12 nations. The event was
part of a month-long European tour for the U students.
The choral ensemble, conducted by Brady Allred, memorized a repertoire
of nearly 40 pieces—“a program that could be adjusted
to where we were singing,” Allred says. “We needed
an extensive repertoire because some of the festivals wanted American
folk music and some churches required that we sing only sacred
music.”
The University Singers competed in three categories: Mixed Choir
Program, Free Program and Renaissance, making it to the final
rounds in each. The choir also won the Ronsard Prize (the best
performance of a Renaissance piece, based on a poem by Ronsard),
the À Coeur Joie International Prize for best French diction
and the Oeuvre de Creation Prize for the finest newly composed
piece. The University Singers commissioned New York composer William
Hawley to write “Flos ut rosa Floruit” for double
choir. In addition, the choir received second place in the Mixed
Choir division. (No first prize was awarded.) A seven-member international
jury, judged the competition. The choir was awarded $5,000 in
prize money.
In a letter written to Allred following the competition, Michel
LUSSAULT, the president of Université Francois-Rabelais
Tours, noted, “For the first time this year our university
was offering a prize for the new [Renaissance] category and we
are truly delighted that several choirs, including your own, chose
to enter this competition and made this program a success.”
Says U student Lillian Severinsen: “In my mind, the competition
in Tours, France, proves that Dr. Allred is a genius. We won because
of his sheer talent, brilliant programming and determined coaching.”
About half of the University Singers are music majors. “The
others come from a variety of disciplines, but all are musical
and have to pass the audition to get in,” says Allred, now
in his second year as conductor. “Last fall we had only
15 returning choir members, so we build up a new group every year
and they learn at a very rigorous pace.
While in Munich the University Singers recorded a third CD, which
will be released in August.
“The competition was a real highlight of the trip. When
the announcer reported the winners, it was all in French. Many
of the students didn’t know what he was saying. The only
words they understood were ‘Salt Lake City,’ and he
kept announcing our name over and over again,” Allred says,
adding that after the University Singers won the grand prize,
the U students hoisted him up on their shoulders and paraded him
around the city. “I felt like a football coach!” he
says.
The University Singers spent their final week touring Italy and
sang in Padova, Dolo, Palaia, Montova and the Duomo in Florence
and St. Mark’s in Venice.
Because of its winning status, the University Singers choir is
automatically entered into the European Grand Prix for Choral
Singing in 2006, which will be held in Tolosa, Spain.
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