Winnipeg Singers win prestigious choral competition

Posted: 6:11 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 25, 2016

For 44 years, the Winnipeg Singers have been a community treasure, their sweet harmonies cascading in churches, cathedrals and auditoriums in and around the city.

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For 44 years, the Winnipeg Singers have been a community treasure, their sweet harmonies cascading in churches, cathedrals and auditoriums in and around the city.

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This article was published 25/07/2016 (3647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For 44 years, the Winnipeg Singers have been a community treasure, their sweet harmonies cascading in churches, cathedrals and auditoriums in and around the city.

This month, the Singers headed to Europe, found new receptive audiences for their music and will come home winners of one of the world’s most prestigious choral competitions.

The Florence International Choir Festival on Saturday named the Winnipeg Singers, directed by Yuri Klaz, the winner of the Golden David, the award that goes to the best overall choir at the competition. The Singers also won two of the three categories it entered: chamber choir and sacred.

SUPPLIED
The Winnipeg Singers won the Golden David at the Florence International Choir Festival. — SUPPLIED The Winnipeg Singers won the Golden David at the Florence International Choir Festival.

Twelve other choirs from nine other countries, including from as far away as China, the Philippines and South Korea participated in the competition. The Winnipeg Singers were the lone North American representative.

Besides their performances at the Florence choir festival, the Winnipeg Singers have also taken the stage in the German cities of Rothenberg and Regensburg and are scheduled to perform in Austria and other locations in Italy before returning home.

Locally, the Winnipeg Singers kick off their 44th season on Oct. 30 with Halloween Spirits and Spooks, when they will team up with Juno Award-winning singer Keri Latimer for an evening of Halloween-themed music at Young United Church.

Meanwhile, two more Winnipeg artists are a step closer to artistic success. Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancers Saeka Shirai and Yue Shi have advanced to the final round at the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria.

They are among the six female and 11 male dancers who’ve been chosen for the final round out of 104 competitors.

The Varna competition is held every two years and is considered the most prestigious ballet competition in the world. Since its inception in 1964, more than 2,500 dancers from 40 countries have vied for its gold medal, and the list of winners includes former RWB principal dancer Evelyn Hart.

Shirai and Shi will present their final performance July 26 at 1 p.m. Winnipeg time.