One of the oldest university choirs in Latvia, the mixed choir of the University of Latvia “Juventus” this year received a ticket to participate in the world-class prestigious international choir competition “Gallus Maribor” in Slovenia. It is one of the six “Grand Prix” competitions of the European Choral Singing Association, also known as the “big six”. In order to enter the competition, the choir had to pass a selection process, in which previous achievements, artistic and vocal quality were evaluated.
“The work is extremely intense. We still had the Song Festival show in the middle, which we had to sing and which we successfully did. But the huge focus is on the repertoire of this competition, which has been chosen quite complex,” says Valdis Thomsons, the artistic director of the “Juventus” choir.
The competition has three rounds. All participants must sing both the compulsory piece and the free-choice repertoire. If the first two rounds are passed, the choir is given the opportunity to fight for the “Grand Prix” in the third round.
“In the past, I used to hold rehearsals more often, but taking into account the busyness of people and other circumstances, we made a decision that the rehearsals will not be more frequent, but will be longer. We rehearse until ten in the evening,” reveals Valdis Thomsons.
“Our team is also very responsive, and we all feel like a family together. Therefore, it is a pleasure to meet twice a week, sing together and also go to the top, which is our goal,” emphasizes Paula Jaunslaviete, singer of the “Juventus” choir .
In total, 8 choirs from different countries will compete for the “Grand Prix” award. We will find out how our “Juventus” fared at the beginning of next week.
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