KITCHENER, ONTARIO - The Monroe Swiss Singers earned a gold rating in the competitive singing event of the 40th Swiss Singing Festival and Competition, hosted by the Swiss Choir Thames Valley of Ontario from Thursday, June 28 to Sunday, July 1.
The Monroe Swiss Singers is a mixed choir of more than 40 voices specializing Swiss folklore music.
Of the 17 total entries in the competition, the Monroe group scored the highest number of points of all the participating choirs with a score of 92 out of a possible 100. This is not the first time that the Monroe Swiss Singers received a first-place rating, but it had been a number of festivals since the group had achieved the highest number of points.
The group's winning performance was of a song in Swiss Bernese dialect titled "Liebi Heimet (Dear Home)" by Swiss composer Adolf Buri.
The competition also included Swiss yodel groups, men's choirs, women's choirs and mixed choirs from Columbus, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; New Glarus; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Central Alberta; Milverton, Ontario; and Lacolle, Quebec.
The three-day event also featured a mass choir of about 350 voices in a Grand Concert, performing to a nearly full house in Kitchener's Centre on the Square concert hall.
The triennial Swiss singing festival is sponsored by the North American Swiss Singing Alliance (NASSA), which all the participating choirs are members. The 41st Swiss Singing Festival and Competition will be held June 18 through June 21, 2015, and will be hosted by the Männerchor New Glarus.
The Monroe Swiss Singers has been under the direction of Deborah Krauss Smith since 1985. More information on the group is available at www.MonroeSwissSingers.org or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/MonroeSwissSingers.
The Monroe Swiss Singers is a mixed choir of more than 40 voices specializing Swiss folklore music.
Of the 17 total entries in the competition, the Monroe group scored the highest number of points of all the participating choirs with a score of 92 out of a possible 100. This is not the first time that the Monroe Swiss Singers received a first-place rating, but it had been a number of festivals since the group had achieved the highest number of points.
The group's winning performance was of a song in Swiss Bernese dialect titled "Liebi Heimet (Dear Home)" by Swiss composer Adolf Buri.
The competition also included Swiss yodel groups, men's choirs, women's choirs and mixed choirs from Columbus, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; New Glarus; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Central Alberta; Milverton, Ontario; and Lacolle, Quebec.
The three-day event also featured a mass choir of about 350 voices in a Grand Concert, performing to a nearly full house in Kitchener's Centre on the Square concert hall.
The triennial Swiss singing festival is sponsored by the North American Swiss Singing Alliance (NASSA), which all the participating choirs are members. The 41st Swiss Singing Festival and Competition will be held June 18 through June 21, 2015, and will be hosted by the Männerchor New Glarus.
The Monroe Swiss Singers has been under the direction of Deborah Krauss Smith since 1985. More information on the group is available at www.MonroeSwissSingers.org or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/MonroeSwissSingers.