LLANGOLLEN, WALES (July 14, 2009) – Southern California’s Westminster Chorus traveled to Llangollen, Wales for the 60^th annual International Musical Eisteddfod – one of the most prestigious choir competitions in the world – and won the title “Choir of The World” and the festival’s most coveted award, The Luciano Pavarotti Choir of The World Trophy. The chorus also won the Folk and Barbershop subcategory competitions earlier in the week.

This is not the chorus’ first international acclaim, however. In 2007, Westminster won the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Chorus Championship and will compete again next year for the same title. Comprised of young men from 16 to 30 years of age, the chorus has been a catalyst around the world for encouraging young men to sing barbershop and a cappella music. They have performed throughout the United States and in 2006 appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.

In its 60th year, the Eisteddfod unites thousands of singers and dancers who descend upon the beautiful Welsh town of Llangollen to compete in some 20 competitions and perform for as many as 50,000 visitors. The competition is broadcast in video on the internet and on BBC radio network to thousands across the world. Westminster’s winning performances are available for free viewing at http://www.llangollen.tv/ until August 5.

For more information, visit http://www.westminsterchorus.org/ and http://www.llangollen2009.com/. To see Westminster’s Choir of the World performance, visit www.llangollen.tv/en/clip/145.

The Barbershop Harmony Society:   Founded in 1938 in Tulsa, Okla., the Barbershop Harmony Society is the largest all-male singing organization in the world with nearly 30,000 members including 1500 quartets in 800 chapters. Another 4,000 barbershoppers are members of affiliated organizations in Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sweden. The Society is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and is home to the Old Songs Library; the world’s largest privately held collection of sheet music, containing 750,000 sheets and 125,000 titles from the heyday of Tin Pan Alley.

The Heritage Hall Museum of Barbershop Harmony, also located in Harmony Hall, serves as a repository for barbershop memorabilia, early recordings, costumes, research materials, and historical documents tracing the roots of the barbershop style. http://www.barbershop.org/. 

Barbershop-style a cappella music:   Barbershop harmony is a uniquely American musical art form. It is known for its four-part harmony and the “expanded sound” created by its unique chord.

This entry was posted on July 14, 2009 at 10:07 am and is filed under Entertainment News, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.