Share this article! The choir will compete for top honor at the 2016 Cork International Choir Festival Marylhurst University’s premiere choral ensemble, the Marylhurst Chamber Choir, has been invited to perform and compete at the Cork International Choir Festival in Cork, Ireland. The festival runs from April 27 through May 2, 2016. The Cork International … Read more
The choir will compete for top honor at the 2016 Cork International Choir Festival
Marylhurst University’s premiere choral ensemble, the Marylhurst Chamber Choir, has been invited to perform and compete at the Cork International Choir Festival in Cork, Ireland. The festival runs from April 27 through May 2, 2016.
The Cork International Choir Festival is one of the most prestigious choral festivals in Europe. The Marylhurst Chamber Choir will compete against nine other choirs from all over the world for the Fleischmann Trophy, the festival’s top honor.
The Marylhurst Chamber Choir was selected out of 34 applying choirs worldwide; they are the only choir selected from the United States. The other choirs competing for the 2016 Fleischmann Trophy are from Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
About the Marylhurst Chamber Choir
The Marylhurst Chamber Choir is the premiere choral ensemble at Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon. A highly selective, 28- to 32-voice mixed choir, it was founded in the fall of 2014 by Dr. Justin Smith, director of choral activities and holder of the Joseph Naumes Endowed Chair in Music at Marylhurst University. The group is rapidly gaining a reputation for excellence throughout the Northwestern United States.
In 2014-2015, in addition to numerous concerts throughout Oregon and Washington, the Marylhurst Chamber Choir performed by invitation at the Oregon Music Educators Association’s All-State Conference and at Carnegie Hall, New York City.
In 2015-16, they will continue their busy schedule of concerts in the Pacific Northwest, as well as travel to Ireland to participate in the Cork International Choral Festival. They will also collaborate with the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, and the composer Caroline Shaw, on performances of her Pulitzer Prize-winning Partita for Eight Voices.
About the Cork International Choir Festival
Founded in 1954 to be a dynamic force in developing choral music in Ireland, the Cork International Choral Festival is held annually over the five days preceding the first Monday in May. Cork welcomes choirs from across the world for a program of gala concerts, schools concerts, national and international competitions, and world-class performances, as thousands of participants bring the city to life for a celebration of choral music in all its many forms.
One of Europe’s premier international choral festivals, Cork is noted for its high standards, eclectic and wide-ranging program, and the friendliness of its welcome. Festival events and performances center around Cork’s City Hall, one of the most attractive and acoustically superb venues in Ireland.
Each year some of the finest amateur international choirs are selected to compete for the prestigious Fleischmann International Trophy. The selected choirs also participate in a wide range of Festival events, which include Fringe concerts, taking part in our church interchange program across Cork, and informal public performances which see choirs popping up throughout Cork in new and unexpected locations throughout the duration of the Festival! The presence of these choirs from throughout the world gives audiences and Irish choirs alike the unique opportunity of hearing a diverse range of concerts and repertoire performed.
As well as foreign choirs, the Festival annually features up to 100 adult, youth and school choirs who participate in national competitions. Overall the Festival attracts some 5,000 participants. The Festival continues to ensure that choral music, representative of many historical and cultural traditions, is brought to the people of Cork and the many visitors who we are delighted to welcome to the city for the event.
About Marylhurst University
Marylhurst University, a private liberal arts university 10 miles south of Portland, Ore. on Highway 43, is regionally accredited and nationally recognized for innovation and academic excellence in serving adult learners. Founded in 1893, Oregon’s oldest Catholic university serves 1,200 multigenerational students of all faiths and backgrounds. Marylhurst offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degrees and professional certificate programs on campus and online, all of which integrate the liberal arts with professional studies and prepare graduates to be ethical leaders who think critically and creatively.
