The Viva la Musica Choir School Foundation from Meppel and Zuidwolde achieved great success at the European Music Festival for Youth (EMJ) in Neerpelt, Belgium. After the large youth choir was successful two years ago, the students participated this weekend in the strictly judged pennant series, where they ‘won the first prize cum laudewon.
“We pulled out all the stops and that appealed to the audience,” beams conductor and teacher Ceciel van der Zee (63). “We got a standing ovation when we finished.”
The 24 students in the youth choir are between 12 and 28 years old, including a young women’s ensemble. “There are good singers among them. And when you put them all together, they really hold their own.”
This was also the case at the EMJ, which attracted more than two thousand young singers from all over Europe, including a number of youth choirs from South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Every youth choir will receive at least a ‘third prize’ for their singing skills at the music festival. That title can become even better with a higher score from the jury: from second prize to first prize, where a handful of youth choirs also use the term cum laude can stick to.
“And we were part of that, so that’s really nice,” says Van der Zee. “We had not yet experienced that in the pennant series, so we went the extra mile.”
That reward did not come without a fight. On the way to the music festival, a lot of time was spent preparing the students.
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