Six of the region’s finest amateur choirs have been announced as finalists in Lichfield Festival’s inaugural Midlands Choir of the Year competition. They will perform in concert at Lichfield Cathedral on Sunday 10 July, as part of the Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations, when the winning choir will be selected.
The finalists are Good Company Singers (Shenstone), Chanteuse Chamber Choir (Stafford), Cor Bach (Newcastle-under-Lyme), Ocho (Barrow Upon Trent), The RWT Singers (The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Staff Choir, Wolverhampton) and Second City Sound (Great Barr).
As well as lifting the very first Midlands Choir of the Year trophy, the winning group will receive a cash prize of £1000 and an invitation to sing at the 2023 Lichfield Festival. And the audience will also have a chance to vote, with an additional prize of £500 awarded to their choice.
The competition was open to amateur, adult singing groups of all types and musical genres from across the Midlands region. The finalists range in number from 8 to 40 singers and will be judged by a team of experts, led by Patrick Craig, an award-winning conductor and singer who has sung more than a thousand concerts with the world-renowned Tallis Scholars.
Following an initial recorded entry round, live semi-finals were held in Lichfield and Festival Director, Damian Thantrey, says: “The judges faced a really difficult choice, given the high standard across the board. There was a fantastic range of music – as there will be in the Final – with traditional choral works rubbing shoulders with superb arrangements of David Bowie and The Spice Girls (and much more in between).”
Midlands Choir of the Year Final is at Lichfield Cathedral on Sunday 10 July, 7.30pm and is part of Lichfield Festival’s 40th anniversary. Lichfield Festival 2022 runs from 7-17 July.
