Taiwanese choirs win 6 gold awards, 1 silver at World Choir Games

Helsingborg, Aug. 11 (CNA) Taiwanese teams won one gold medal, one silver medal, and five gold diplomas at the 14th World Choir Games in Helsingborg, Sweden, during the first phase of the competition, which ended Monday.

Seven choirs from Taiwan, from elementary school students to adult singers, participated in the games.

The World Choir Games, organized by Interkultur and held biannually, are taking place from last Thursday to Aug. 16 and have attracted 8,500 performers in 200 teams from 40 nations.

The event, often described as the "Olympics of Choral Music," features two levels of competition, including the Champions Competition for experienced choirs and the Open Competition for ensembles with less international competition experience.

Two Taiwanese teams with extensive international competition experience advanced to the Champions Competition.

Kaohsiung's Nibun Chorus won a gold medal in the Folklore and Indigenous Music with Accompaniment category.

New Taipei City Junior Choir won a silver medal in the Youth Choir category.

In the Open Competition, two choirs from the Dream Lotus team won two gold diplomas and ranked first in the "Music of Spirit and Faith" and "Adult Choirs of Equal Voices" categories, respectively.

Taipei Municipal San-Yu Elementary School also won a gold diploma in the Children's Choirs category and placed second.

Most of the Taiwanese choirs have completed their competitions. Nibun Chorus will compete in the second phase of the Games, which began Tuesday and runs through Aug. 16, entering the Mixed Chamber Choirs and Vocal Ensembles, and Pop Ensembles categories in the Champions Competition.

Nibun Chorus, which won two gold medals at the 13th World Choir Games in 2024, was invited by the organizers to perform at the "Harmony of Nations" concert Saturday and the "Peace Concert" Tuesday.

The choir also held a pop-up performance Saturday in downtown Helsingborg, performing Taiwanese folk songs including "Moon Night Sorrow" (月夜愁) and traditional songs of the Amis and Bunun peoples, including "Toril A Kaw" (都歷古調).

Other Taiwanese choirs were also invited to Friendship concerts and performed alongside choirs from around the world.