U Chamber Choir Named International Champion
Beats the best of the best in European Choral Grand Prix
UPDATE, June 24, 2015:
Early this morning, Barlow Bradford and the U of U Chamber Choir appeared on KUTV
2News to talk about their recent International Championship at the European Choral
Grand Prix. The entire segment can be viewed here.
Later this afternoon, Big Budah from Fox 13 News interviewed Bradford and talked about
the recent win and what the group had taken away from the big win. The entire segment
can be viewed here.
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June 5, 2015 – The University of Utah Chamber Choir won what is considered by some as the world
championship of amateur choral art, the European Choral Grand Prix. The competition
includes choirs from all across the globe and has an international jury made up of
judges from six different countries.
The U’s choir, directed by Barlow Bradford, became qualified to compete after winning
the prestigious Florilége Vocal de Tours in the summer of 2014. This past weekend
they faced the winning choirs from the other regional competitions held in Italy,
Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Spain.
“We had 25 minutes to walk in and show our stuff,” Bradford said. “As they tabulated
the scores, I kept thinking about how this choir had absolutely transformed since
the last fall. They sang like a million bucks. I am so incredibly proud of them.”
The choir will arrive at the Salt Lake International Airport from their European tour
on Saturday evening, June 6, after having competed in Tours, France and performed
in cathedrals in Paris, Normandy and Barcelona.
“This is an outstanding moment in a rich history of our students’ excellence,” said
Raymond Tymas-Jones, associate vice president for the arts and dean of the College
of Fine Arts. “It is a prime example of the world-class education and experiences
students in the College of Fine Arts receive. We are incredibly proud.”