The Irish chamber choir New Dublin Voices swept the boards at a major international choral competition in Belgium over the weekend.
New Dublin Voices, a non-professional chamber choir under the direction of conductor Bernie Sherlock, was competing in the biennial International Choir Contest of Flanders-Maasmechelen where it not only won first prize but also swept all other available prizes: best performance of the specially commissioned set work, best folksong, best performance of a contemporary piece (O frondens virga by the Irish composer Ben Hanlon), the Audience Prize, and Choir of the Festival.
11 choirs in all – from Germany, Russia, Latvia, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as Ireland – were selected to take part in the competition which was judged by an international panel of 5 adjudicators. Performances were spread over the two days and the results were announced late on Sunday night. New Dublin Voices, which receives no sponsorship or government funding, amassed close to €4000 in prize money.
"I'm delighted we hit our top form this weekend and did so well," said conductor Bernie Sherlock. "Apart from anything else, New Dublin Voices needs the money! This means we can start planning to travel somewhere else next year."
Click here for the official results.