‘Africa Sing Aloud’ choral music contests begin

Isaac Yeboah Showbiz News Aug - 25 - 2013 , 17:29 3 minutes read

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), with endorsements from the International Federation of Choral Music and the Global African Foundation for Choral Music, has begun a nationwide search for talents to represent Ghana at the ‘Africa Sing Aloud’ international choral music festival.

The international event, which is slated for the National Theatre in Accra and the Cape Coast Castle from March 29 to 30, 2014, will be preceded by regional and national competitions.

At press time on Thursday, August 22, the first regional competition, which is the Central Regional contest, was underway at the Cape Coast Centre for National Culture.

The competing choirs in the Central Regional event were the 2012 regional champions, the African Youth Choir, formerly known as the Prophetic Voices Choir; the Oguaa Youth Choir, the Mass Demonstrational Choir, the Ajumako Youth Choir and the Passionate Choir.

Next week Friday, August 30, three competitions will be held concurrently in the Volta Region (Ho), Upper East Region (Bolgatanga) and the Greater Accra Region (Accra) to select regional representatives for the national contest.

The schedule for the other parts of the country are as follows; Eastern Region (Koforidua) – Saturday, August 31; Upper West (Wa) – Wednesday, September 4; Northern Region (Tamale) – Friday, September 6; Tema – Friday, September 13; Ashanti Region (Kumasi) – Sunday, September 15; Western Region (Takoradi) – Friday, September 20 and Brong Ahafo Region (Sunyani) on Saturday, September 28.

Participation in the regional competitions is open to amateur choirs from all the 10 regions of Ghana as well as Tema, which has been categorised as a region for the sake of the contest.

The minimum age of singers is 14 years and the number of members in a competing choir should not be less than 16 or more than 40. However choirs in the secular category may present lesser number of members.

The members of the choirs must be amateurs, that is, they must not be earning a living through singing. Each choir shall perform a maximum of four songs including two compulsory tunes.

One group will be selected at each of the 11 regional competitions to be held in all 10 regional capitals as well as in Tema, which means that the Greater Accra Region will have two representatives at the national event.

The regional contests are expected to end in October this year, after which the national event will be held to select the best three groups to represent Ghana at the international event.

The best three winners at the regional level will receive GH¢1,000, GH¢500 and GH¢250 respectively, while the national champions and the runners-up take home GH¢3,000, GH¢2,000 and GH¢1,000 respectively.

The Public Relations Manager at the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Ben Ohene Ayeh, said the international show dubbed, “Africa Sing Aloud Choral Festival,” will present a platform for the development and propagation of Africa’s rich choral music.

“The festival is also intended to bring together choirs from all over Africa and the rest of the world to perform in the spirit of friendship and also to collaborate, learn from each other and form lasting relationships,” Mr Ayeh stated.

The festival, which will be held on the theme; “Celebrating cultures through choral music” is open to choirs throughout the world.