HOW TO GET A GOOD

RESULT IN A CHOIR

COMPETITION ?

An Opportunity for every Choir

A presentation by Andrea

Angelini

Why a Choir should compete?

Introduction

Motivation

To be in touch with

other choirs

To know different

cultures

To listen different

repertoire

To get suggestions

and opinions by the

jury

To measure its skills

How to plan a Competition

When can I travel with my

choir? According with the kind of

your choir, you know when the choir is allowed to travel. Usually summer is the best time because students are in holiday and workers as well. Time around Christmas is usually fine and weekends too. If you are particularly interested to attend a Competition outside of usual vacation slots you need to consider people asking permission to be free of their job. Attending a Competition in the frame of the Academic year could be considered part of the school programme!

How long before I have to prepare for the

trip?

Depending by the place/country where the Competition takes part! Whilst it could be enough 2-3 months before for a national Event, a Competition abroad needs a long preparation, about 6 months and over. Please consider aspects like: The needing of a visa

Raising funds

Buying air tickets

Planning the trip

Which Festival is the best for my

Choir?

There are actually so many Festivals and Competitions for Choirs that you will find the best option for you! Points to be considered: Find a Competition which

includes the right category for your choir.

Be honest about your skills. Do not enter a Competition too difficult for your choir possibilities.

Budget of your choir.

Choose a Country you like to visit… Why not?

What repertoire is best to bring?

Some Competitions require a choir brings at least one obligatory piece.

Some leave the choice to the choir (free repertoire).

Other festivals require that the choirs choose the repertoire within specific music eras (Renaissance, Classical, Romantic, Modern ...).

Don’t wrong the repertoire!

I have seen many times choirs presenting a

wrong repertoire… like:

Repertoire too difficult according the skills of the choir

Repertoire too easy

Repertoire too similar (it’s difficult to judge when the

pieces look like the same)

Repertoire too long or too short (check the rules about

the timing!)

How to win a Competition?

Will you win?

Some suggestions

to get a prize and/or a

good placement in a

Choir Competition!

Suggestions for a good

performance

INTONATION

It’s one of the most important quality for a choir. When I’m sitting in a jury and I listen a choir not in tune (flat, sharp, bad internal intonation) I loose soon my attention…

Suggestions for a good

performance

FIDELITY TO THE SCORE

Especially for Renaissance and Baroque music there are some rules for a correct performance practice that you need to know! Modern music must be performed in the full respect of what the composer wrote in the score. You can perform with your own idea but always trying to respect the intention of the composer or of the practice of the time

Suggestions for a good

performance

SOUND QUALITY

Creating a good balanced and blended sound requires experience and lot of work. Consider that this issue makes the difference between a good and a normal/bad choir!

Suggestions for a good

performance

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Obviously the singers need to know the meaning of the text they are singing (Latin, French, English, German, Russian…). It’s absolutely impossible to give the right interpretation without the knowledge of the meaning!

Suggestions for a good

performance

PRONOUNCING THE TEXT

Understanding the meaning it’s not enough, of course! The text, must be pronounced in the right way. The conductor must be very careful about this point. Particular attention to the Latin and to its different ways of pronunciation (for Classic Latin and Church Latin see here)

Suggestions for a good

performance

RIGHT REPERTOIRE

I have told before

why it’s important to

chose the right

repertoire. Avoid

monographic or too

similar pieces that

make the jury bored

Suggestions for a good

performance

OVERALL ARTISTIC

IMPRESSION

The choir needs to find a correct way to present itself on the stage! Too many times I have seen choirs standing motionless like soldiers during a parade or waving too much like at the football stadium. The middle is always the best! Costumes must be carefully chosen.

Good Luck!

Andrea Angelini

Born in Bologna, Italy, Andrea Angelini began his piano studies as a child, at the

Rimini Lettimi School. He later earned a Doctorate of Music at Ferrara's

Frescobaldi Conservatory. After earning a Master in Choral Conducting he studied

music therapy with Professor Cremaschi of Milan University. His interests led him

to the choral field, and he earned a Bachelor studying at the International Art

Academy in Rome with Fulvio Angius. He also studied organ at Pesaro's

Conservatory of Music. Finally he got his PHD in Choral Music at the Cesena

Conservatoire of Music. He is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the

professional group Musica Ficta Vocal Ensemble that frequently performs in

important Festivals in Italy and abroad. For many years, Andrea Angelini has

conducted concerts with the choir Carla Amori, in Italy and abroad. Named Director

of the Rimini Community Choir, Alessandro Grandi, he led this choir in several

performances, including in important venues such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome -

where he was able to personally meet Pope John Paul II - and in Milan’s Cathedral.

He has also conducted the Belarusian National Capella Choir, the Lithuanian

Jauna Muzika Choir, the Latvian Ave Sol, the Ukrainian Ave Musica and the Tudor

Consort from New Zealand. Dr. Angelini is the Artistic Director of the Choral

Festival Voci nei Chiostri held annually in Rimini each spring. He has been

member of the Jury at many International Choir’s Competitions in Italy, Europe and

Asia. He frequently leads choral workshops in Italy and abroad. Recently his

Masterclass about the “Venetian Renaissance choral music” has been presented to

the students of the prestigious Liszt Music Academy of Budapest and in Kuala

Lumpur (Malaysia) for the Young Choral Academy. He has led similar workshops

in Romania, Russia, Belarus and China too. He is the artistic director and one of

the tutors at the Rimini International Choral Workshop, where he teaches with

Peter Phillips, director of the Tallis Scholars. Mr. Angelini is also the artistic director

of the Rimini International Choral Competition, of the Queen of the Adriatic Sea

Choral Festival and Competition and of the Liviu Borlan Choral Festival. He is the

Editor of the International Choral Bulletin (ICB), the membership magazine of the

IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music). He has written numerous

transcriptions and arrangements for choirs and chamber ensembles. His

transcription of Faure's Requiem is published by Gelber Hund Verlag of Berlin. For

the American CanticaNOVA Publication, he has prepared transcriptions of

important Renaissance Motets. He has published his composition with Eurarte and

Ferrimontana.

The End!