Cornwall Unites a World of Song
News Release: Immediate
Cornwall came alive with a world of music this Bank Holiday weekend as 2000 singers of all ages and nationalities brought their own songs and cultures to entertain around 45,000 people in the 2017 International Male Choral Festival.
St Petersburg Boys Choir launching the 2017 Festival at St Michael’s Mount. Photo - Phil Monckton.
The world’s largest male choral event welcomed 60 choirs for 50 concerts, competitions and celebrations in 40 venues across the county from Bude to Land’s End, Porthleven to Saltash and everywhere in between.
Singers from 9 to 90 years old performed in churches and gardens, theatres, castles and major tourist attractions - with organisers estimating that the influx of choirs, their entourages and Festival visitors have brought more than £1million into the local economy.
Among the global visitors for this eighth biennial Festival were choirs from Australia and America, Russia and across Europe as well as Wales, Scotland, England and Cornwall itself.
“It’s been such a pleasure to bring singers from all over the globe together for such a good humoured and harmonious event,” says Festival Director Rob Elliott. “This Festival just goes from strength to strength and the more people who know about it the better it gets.
“We’ve sold more tickets than ever before and there has been something for everyone wherever in Cornwall they were. People who catch the choirs singing “out and about” are just bowled over by the quality and the fun of it.”
This year’s Festival emphasised the future for Male choral singing in the form of brilliant young choirs from Cornwall and around the world. The Festival was launched by St Petersburg Boys Choir singing their hearts out on and around St Michael’s Mount – to the delight of the many day trippers there.
Truro School Barbershop, conducted by Cornwall Music Service Trust's Head of Service - Gareth Churcher, were voted Best International Youth Choir 2017 – photo Ian Griffiths
There were home grown winners for the popular International Youth Choir Competition at the Hall for Cornwall as the Truro School Barbershop boys narrowly pipped last year’s winners, the Bromley Boy Singers.
Overall Festival Winners 2017 – the South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus – photo Ian Griffiths
Among the keenly fought adult competitions it was the South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus who emerged victorious as the Festival’s Overall Winners – their rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow bringing tears to the eyes of many in the audience.
Best Overall Cornish Choir 2017 – Mousehole MVC (L). Best Cornish choir of 40 voices and under – Tintagel MVC – photo Ian Griffiths
Cornish winners came from bottom to top of the county with Mousehole Male Voice Choir taking the title for Overall Best Cornish Choir while Tintagel MVC were the Best Cornish Choir for 40 Voices and Under. Photos of the competing choirs are available from at www.event-photos.co.uk - 07973 143406/ 01933 412251.
“It’s been a fantastic festival and we’ve all enjoyed it so much,” says Rob Elliott. “Now we have start again on organising the event for 2019!”