WCLV's Jubilation! Church Choir Festival was established in 2008 to showcase sacred choral music that is recognized as part of the core classical repertoire; to encourage a heightened standard of choral music in houses of worship; and to celebrate choirs that joyfully strive for excellence. Festival participation is by audition, and choirs from any house of worship located in the following counties may participate: Cuyahoga; Lorain; Stark; Geauga; Summit; Lake; Ashtabula; Medina.
Rules for Jubilation 2014
Preliminaries
The preliminary round is held by recorded submissions sent to Jubilation!, WCLV, Idea Center, 1375 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44115. Deadline for entry is March 28, 2014. In the preliminary round, choirs are asked to submit two pieces that meet the parameters outlined below:
• Any piece from a Baroque, Classical, or Romantic era cantata or oratorio. Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, etc.
• Any choral selection from a Requiem
• Any selection from the English choral tradition - Vaughan Williams, Britten, Elgar, etc.
• Any spiritual or work in the African-American Gospel tradition
• Any Renaissance a cappella selection. (Finalist choirs will be required to sing at least one a cappella piece.)
PLEASE NOTE: You may already have recordings in your recent worship service archives that meet the entrance requirements. Or, you may want to submit material from an upcoming worship service or rehearsal. The recording need not be made by professional audio technician; what is important is that you capture the sound of your ensemble with reasonable fidelity. Many of today’s mobile devices are capable of recording surprisingly good audio.
Final Round
From the pool of entries, six choirs will be selected to participate in the final round which will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on May 8th and 9th, 2014. The six will be announced on April 7th, 2014.
Finalists will be asked to prepare and perform a 20 minute program for the final round. The program must include at least one selection from a provided repertoire list, with the rest of the program reflecting a variety of musical styles. Three choirs will perform on each evening of the Festival. Finalists will have access to a tuned grand piano for the performance, but must provide their own accompanists.
Adjudication
Choirs will be judged on technical ability, musicality, and their work as an ensemble. Judges for Jubilation! 2014 will be announced later this month. Judges for 2013 were Frank Bianchi, Founder and Director of the Baldwin Wallace Men’s Chorus; Peter Jarjisian, Professor Emeritus of Choral Conducting, Ohio University; and Robert Page, former Director of Choruses for The Cleveland Orchestra.
Prizes
First Prize is a trophy and $1,000 toward the winning choir's music program. Each of the other finalist choirs will receive $500 and a commemorative plaque. All finalist choirs will receive CDs of their performances.
Please contact {encode="jenny.northern@ideastream.org" title="Jenny Northern"}, 216-916-7144 with any questions.