You may the Symposium Report as pdf.file here.
Transcription
You may the Symposium Report as pdf.file here.
WSCM 8 REPORT Overview The Eighth IFCM World Symposium on Choral Music (WSCM 8) took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 19-26 2008. It was arranged by the Danish project organization Choral Denmark in close cooperation with The International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM). The central venue was the Opera House at the harbor front where WSCM 8 started with an Opening Gala Performance on Saturday July 19, featuring a series of Danish Choirs plus the theatre group Batida and the Tivoli Boys Guard. The daily program began every morning at 8.45 with a Warm Up, followed by the Morning Sing, - a 45 minutes' common singing event with new choirs on stage every morning, singing from the Symposium Song Book together with the delegates in the auditorium. Most of the participants arrived by the special harbor ferry shuttle from the city to the Opera. During the day it was possible to attend workshops, master classes and round table discussions, every morning and afternoon 7 parallel offers, and at lunch time Opera concerts with four new choirs each day. On Friday July 25 we offered a special late afternoon performance of the Canadian children's opera Ann and Seamus, sung by Shallaway from Newfoundland. In the evenings, concerts took place at different venues (churches and concert halls) in the city of Copenhagen. Wednesday July 23 - halfway through the Symposium - was a Tivoli Day with choirs singing all the afternoon from the open air stages of Tivoli Gardens. The Tivoli Concert Hall hosted three events during this day: a Songbridge Gala at 14.30, concerts with the vocal ensembles of DR (The Danish Radio Corporation) at 19.30, and a concert with Rhythmic Vocal Music at 21.30. Final concerts took place in two big churches of Copenhagen. In the Cathedral, Britten's War Requiem was performed by Danish choirs and the DR Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Schønwandt, while the Danish choir in residence, Ars Nova Copenhagen, was singing motets by Bach in the Garnisons Kirke. The Symposium also had an Expo in one of the ballet rehearsing rooms on the 4th floor of the Opera where the participants could visit about 30 publishing companies or music information booths. Choral Denmark had its own booth, offering a wide range of Danish choral literature, cd's etc. Choral Music meets its audience This was the main theme of the Symposium. The WSCM8 Artistic Committee formulated it like this: Today's world seeks to embrace the performing artists. We in the choral world must be creative and consider how we can make our concerts and programs stimulating to our audiences, and at the same time maintain a high artistic level. As we constantly strive to perfect our art, we shall at WSCM 8 look for new ways to connect to our listeners through our stage deportment and our joy of singing. And indeed many of the choirs, work shop holders and composers in residence followed up on this theme, trying to find new ways of communication between stage and audience. Our promises This was what we promised the Symposium participants in the final invitation, which was published in July 2007, one year before WSCM 8 took place: We are proud to present a Symposium, where each Nordic country for the first time will be represented by choirs, and where 3 choirs from Latin- and South America, 3 from Africa, 5 from the Asian / Pacific region, 3 from North America, and 3 from Europe outside the Nordic region will perform. We believe that many of the delegates will be interested in knowing more about our Scandinavian choral world. Following the Nordic Track, you will experience every day something special from the Nordic region. Once again, a Songbridge project will be included in a world choral symposium. This has not been the case since Rotterdam in 1999. In Copenhagen, the Songbridge will include children's and youth choirs from China, Canada, Hungary and Denmark. Children from different parts of the world singing together is a real peace creating project! You will also find inspiration at the World Choral Expo, featuring music industry exhibits, festivals, agencies etc. During the Symposium days, you will spend the daytime in the Opera on the island of Holmen, crossing the harbor by the Symposium shuttle ferry in the morning. Each day will begin with a Warm-Up and an Open Sing, followed by Workshops, Master Classes and Concerts in the Opera at lunch time. In the late afternoon, the ferry will take you back to the city and a little rest at your hotel before the evening concerts start in the old city of Copenhagen. The venues will be churches, museums and other concert rooms, and you can make your choice from a variety of at least 5 concerts starting at different times. The most eager delegates may visit 2 or more concerts in the same evening... Wednesday will be a very special day: Tivoli day! From the early afternoon the famous Tivoli Gardens will echo with choirs singing from the open air stages, the Songbridge Gala Concert in the afternoon in the big Tivoli concert hall and two big choir concerts in the evening. Last, but not least, you will meet colleagues and choral friends from all over the world. Sit down in the glass foyer with a cup of coffee, or in the sun outside the Opera, create contacts or just have a talk and enjoy the spectacular harbor view! The Nordic Track From the beginning we were very focused on the idea of not only making a special presentation of Denmark, which was quite natural, but presenting the entire Nordic choral universe, which has been admired by the rest of the world: the special Nordic sound, the interesting composers, the Nordic leading position in breaking new ways for the choir performances. For the first time in the history of IFCM choirs from all Nordic nations were included in the same World Symposium program, featuring Iceland for the very first time, and leading Nordic choir specialists were engaged to hold workshops or master classes or participate in round table discussions. At the end we had 3 WSCM 8 Report page 2 Swedish choirs, 2 from Finland, 3 from Norway, 1 from Iceland and from Denmark Ars Nova Copenhagen as choir of residence. 13 other Danish choirs were presented during WSCM 8 (see list below). New compositions were commissioned from all Nordic countries. In the printed program the Nordic track was marked with the logo of Nordisk Kulturfond (The Nordic Cultural Foundation) who supported this part of the Symposium program. Commissioned works The following works were commissioned and world premiered during the World Symposium: Karin Rehnqvist (Sweden): Der Herr ist mein Hirte. Treble voices a cappella. Text: Ps.23, 14. Adolf Fredriks Flickkör, Sweden. Conductor: Bo Johansson. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (Finland): Face The Music. Mixed choir a cappella. Text: John Dryden, William Shakespeare. EMO, Finland. Conductor: Pasi Hyökki. Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (Iceland): Psalmus CL. Text: Ps.150 Hamrahlíðarkórinn, Iceland. Conductor: Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. Sunleif Rasmussen (Faroe Islands): Regin der Schmied. Mixed choir, trombone and percussion. Text: From the Middle Ages. Mogens Dahl Kammerkor, Denmark. Conductor: Mogens Dahl. Trombone: Jesper Juhl Sørensen. Percussion: Mathias Reumert. Vytautas Miskinis (Lithuania): Light Mass. Mixed choir, jazz trio and additional piano. Text: Ordinarium Missae. Conspirare, USA. Conductor: Craig Hella Johnson. Pianos: Faith DeBow and Kristian Marcussen. Bass: Graig Earle. Drums: Kristoffer Juel Pedersen. Butch Lacy (Denmark): Wo-de-O. Mixed choir a cappella. Text: Butch Lacy. Schola Cantorum Coralina la Habana, Cuba. Conductor: Alina Orraca Llama. John Høybye (Denmark): The Magic Paint Brush. Mixed choir a cappella. Text: Edward Broadbridge Schola Cantorum, Norway. Conductor: John Høybye. Per Skriver (Denmark): Duet. Text: Alfred, Lord Tennyson Taipei Chamber Singers. Conductor: Yung-Hung Chen. Michael Bojesen (Denmark): Plant a Tree. Equal voices and flügelhorn. Text: Lisa Freeman, inspired by a poem by Piet Hein. DR National Girls Choir, Denmark. Conductor: Michael Bojesen. Flügelhorn: Palle Mikkelborg. WSCM 8 Report page 3 Jakob Lorentzen (Denmark): L'enfant mourant. Equal voices, harp and triangle. Text: H.C.Andersen / Bent Deegen Voci Nobili, Norway. Conductor: Maria Gamborg Helbekkmo. Harp: Tine Rehling. Peter Bruun (Denmark): Peace. Male choir a cappella. Text: W. Owen, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Svanholm Singers, Sweden. Conductor: Sofia Söderberg-Eberhard. Songbridge The WSCM 8 Artistic Committee decided at an early stage of the planning to have a Songbridge. Since the World Symposium in Rotterdam 1999 no Songbridge had been connected to a World Symposium. The idea of the Songbridge Project, created by the Finnish conductor Erkki Pohjola, is to bring 3 or 4 children's choirs from different parts of the world together. Each choir brings its own music including a commissioned composition which partly includes the other children's choirs. In a Songbridge Camp all the choirs meet and work together some days before presenting the result in a Songbridge Gala Concert. The following choirs were selected by the International Songbridge Committee and the WSCM 8 Artistic Committee as participants in the Songbridge Camp and WSCM 8: Shenzhen Middle School Choir, China. Conductor: Mei Liu. Magnificat Childrens Choir, Hungary. Conductor: Valéria Szebellédi. Shallaway, Canada. Conductor: Susan Knight. National Church Choir, Denmark. Conductor: Ole Faurschou. Songbridge Artistic Director: Kari Ala-Pöllänen (Finland), assisted by Sanna Valvanne (Finland). The Songbridge Camp took place in the city of Holstebro, Denmark, and was arranged and hosted by FUK, The National Organisation of Children's and Youth Choirs in the Church of Denmark. After the Camp the choirs went to Copenhagen and performed the Songbridge Gala in the Tivoli Concert Hall July 23. Delegates Totally, WSCM had 1.160 delegates including workshop holders, board members and guests from 70 countries. The following countries and number of delegates were represented, - please notice that the list does not include participating choirs and their leaders: AFRICA Algeria Burundi Cameroon Congo Egypt Ghana Kenya Mozambique Namibia Nigeria South Africa WSCM 8 Report page 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 28 Zimbabwe 10 countries 1 42 delegates ASIA Armenia China Hong Kong Japan Kazakhstan Malaysia Philippines Singapore South Korea Taiwan Thailand 11 countries 1 17 2 86 2 4 1 14 28 18 3 176 delegates EUROPE excluding the Nordic Countries Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Estonia France Germany Greece Holland (The Netherlands) Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovenia Spain Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom 25 countries 26 15 2 2 29 39 63 9 13 5 6 10 3 5 1 2 2 1 2 1 19 9 9 4 21 298 delegates WSCM 8 Report page 5 plus 6 Nordic countries with 272 delegates, total for Europe 567 delegates LATIN AMERICA Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba French Guyana Mexico Paraguay Puerto Rico Venezuela 11 countries 14 8 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 7 41 delegates MIDDLE EAST Israel Lebanon 2 countries 17 1 18 delegates NORDIC Denmark Faroe Islands Finland Iceland Norway Sweden 6 countries 102 1 34 8 47 80 272 delegates NORTH AMERICA Canada USA 2 countries 49 207 256 delegates SOUTH PACIFIC Australia Indonesia New Zealand 3 countries WSCM 8 Report page 6 42 1 14 57 delegates Choirs The list of participating choirs include the following: NORTH AMERICA (3) Conspirare (USA), cond. Craig Hella Johnson Musica Intima (Canada) (no conductor) Shallaway (Canada), cond. Susan Knight LATIN AMERICA / SOUTH AMERICA (3) Coro Camerata Antiqua de Curitiba (Brazil), cond. Helma Haller. Schola Cantorum Coralina La Habana (Cuba), cond. Alina Orraca Llama. Coro Universitario de Mendoza (Argentina), cond. Silvana Vallesi. AFRICA (3) MCC Mwamba (Uganda), cond. Jemimah K. Nsanga University of Johannesburg Choir (South Africa), cond. Renette Bouwer and Sidumo Jacobs. Winneba Youth Choir (Ghana), cond. John Francis Arthur Yamoah. ASIA / PACIFIC (5) Anyang Civic Chorale (South Korea), dir. Sang-Kil Lee. Indonesian Youth Cordana Choir (Indonesia), cond. Aida Swenson. Key Cygnetures (New Zealand), cond. Elise Bradley and Karen Grylls. Shen Zhen Middle School Choir (China), cond. Mei Liu. Taipei Chamber Singers (Taiwan), cond. Yun-Hung Chen. EUROPE excl. NORDIC COUNTRIES (5) Calicantus (Swiss), cond. Mario Fontana. Jauniesu Koris KAMER (Latvia), cond. Maris Sirmais. Mikrokosmos (France), cond. Loïc Pierre. Rundfunkchor Berlin (Germany), cond. Simon Halsey and Stefan Parkman. Romanian Radio Children's Choir (Romania), cond. Voicu Popescu. NORDIC COUNTRIES (22) Denmark (13) Ars Nova Copenhagen, cond. Paul Hillier. Camerata (Copenhagen Chamber Choir), cond. Michael Bojesen. Chamberchoir HYMNIA, cond. Fleming Windekilde. Copenhagen Girls Choir SAG, cond. Claus Vestergaard Jensen. Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir, cond. Ebbe Munk. Danish National Girls Choir DR (Radiopigekoret), cond. Michael Bojesen. Danish National Vocal Ensemble DR, cond. Stephen Layton. Mogens Dahl Kammerkor, cond. Mogens Dahl. National Church Choir (FUK), cond. Ole Faurschou. Touché, cond. Jesper Holm. University Choir Lille MUKO, cond. Jesper Grove Jørgensen. Vocal Line, cond. Jens Johansen. VoxNorth, cond. Jim Daus Hjernøe. WSCM 8 Report page 7 Finland (2) EMO, cond. Pasi Hyökki. Rajaton (no conductor. Iceland (1) Hamrahlíðarkórinn (Hamrahlid Choir), cond. Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. Norway (3) Schola Cantorum Oslo, cond. Tone Bianca Dahl. Voci Nobili, cond. Maria Gamborg Helbekkmo. Vokal Nord, dir. Ragnar Rasmussen. Sweden (3) Adolf Fredriks Flickkör, cond. Bo Johansson. Lunds Studentsångförening, cond. Thomas Caplin. Svanholm Singers, cond. Sofia Söderberg-Eberhard Morning Sing Every morning choirs from different parts of the world presented music from their own region on stage, singing it from the Symposium Songbook together with the delegates in the auditorium. The music - mostly excerpts from compositions - was printed with generous permissions from editors all over the world. The following choirs and conductors took part in the Morning Sing sessions: Sunday Danish repertoire. Danish choir singers and volunteers conducted by Michael Bojesen, John Høybye, Jesper Grove Jørgensen and Steen Lindholm. Monday Iceland and Sweden. Hamrahlíðarkórinn (Hamrahlid Choir), cond. Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, and Adolf Fredriks Flickkör, cond. Bo Johansson. Tuesday Asian repertoire. Anyang Civic Chorale (South Korea), dir. Sang-Kil Lee, and Taipei Chamber Singers (Taiwan), cond. Yun-Hung Chen. Thursday Latin American repertoire. Schola Cantorum Coralina La Habana (Cuba), cond. Alina Orraca Llama, and Coro Universitario de Mendoza (Argentina), cond. Silvana Vallesi. Friday Norway and Finland. Vokal Nord, dir. Ragnar Rasmussen, and EMO, cond. Pasi Hyökki. WSCM 8 Report page 8 Saturday North American repertoire. Anton Armstrong and Conspirare. Workshops WSCM 8 offered a total of 60 workshops on 34 different themes related to choral music: 1. Meet Iceland / Hamrahlíðarkórinn (Hamrahlid Choir), cond. Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, and the composer Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson. 2. The Acoustic Phenomenon of Choral Singing / Harald Jers (Germany). 3. Body Percussion and the Voice / Keith Terry (USA). 4. Solfége with Children / Wilma ten Wolde (The Netherlands). This workshop was cancelled due to illness. 5. Communication between Choir and Conductor / Tone Bianca Dahl (Norway). 6. How to get the Media interested in Choral Music / Benjamin K. Roe (USA). 7. A Taste of New Zealand / Key Cygnetures, cond. Elise Bradley and Karen Grylls. 8. Improving Choral Blend / Sigrid Johnson (USA). 9. Body Work for Children / Wilma ten Wolde (The Netherlands). This workshop was cancelled due to illness. 10. Boys singing Buxtehude / Royal Chapel Choir cond. Ebbe Munk (Denmark). 11. Meet the Composer / Eric Whitacre (USA). 12. Good, reasonable Choral Writing / John Høybye (Denmark). 13. Repertoire and Conducting / Naomi Faran (Israel). 14. The Musica Project / Jean Sturm (France). 15. Vocal Rhythmic Music. Three different Approaches / Touché, cond. Jesper Holm, Vocal Line, cond. Jens Johansen, and VoxNorth, cond. Jim Daus Hjernøe (Denmark). 16. Rhythms of the Earth: African / Winneba Choir (Ghana). 17. Improvising with Gunnar / Gunnar Eriksson (Sweden). 18. A Taste of Balkan's Choral Temperament / Branko Stark (Croatia). 19. Exploring the Sound of Nordic Folk Music / Susanne Rosenberg (Sweden). Due to illness Ms. Rosenberg was substituted by Åsa Grågarn Sol (Sweden). 20. Meet Finland / EMO, cond. Pasi Hyökki, and the composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi. 21. From the ugly Voice to the classically trained Voice / Svend Prytz (Denmark). 22. A Taste of Indonesia / Indonesian Youth Choir Cordana, cond. Aida Swenson. 23. Sing'n move...Let us groove / Sanna Valvanne (Finland) and Cristian Grases (Venezuela). 24. Movement and Expression / Ana Yepes (Spain). 25. African Inspiration / Adrien Ntabona (Burundi). 26. An exciting Choir Project / Maris Sirmaïs and Jauniesu Koris KAMER (Latvia). 27. How to build a Choral School / Michael Bojesen (Denmark). 28. Renaissance of the German Volkslied / Volker Hempfling (Germany). 29. Meet Sweden / Adolf Fredriks Flickkör, cond. Bo Johansson, and the composer Karin Rehnqvist. 30. Interpreting the Afro-American Spiritual / Anton Armstrong (USA). 31. Rhythms of the Earth: Caribbean and Latin-American / Freddy Lafont Mena (Cuba). 32. Choral Movement on Renaissance and Baroque Dance / Ana Yepes (Spain). 33. Finding Performance Energy through Rhythm / Bob Chilcott (United Kingdom). 34. Meet Norway / Vokal Nord, cond. Ragnar Rasmussen. WSCM 8 Report page 9 Master Classes 4 Master Classes were offered, 2 for conductors of mixed choirs and 2 for conductors of children's choirs. 1. Master Class Erwin Ortner (Austria): From Haydn to Webern. Music from Vienna. Choir: Ars Nova Copenhagen. Haydn: Die Beredsamkeit Schubert: Chor der Engel Brahms: Nachtwache 1-2 Schoenberg: De profundis Webern: Entflieht auf leichten Kähnen. 2. Master Class Simon Halsey (United Kingdom): Contemporary Choral Music. Choir: Ars Nova Copenhagen. Thomas Adès: The Fairfax Carol James Macmillan: Tenebrae Responsories Tarik O'Reagan: Tu, Trinitatis Unitas Eric Whitacre: When David heard Julian Anderson: Beautiful Valley of Eden 3. Master Class Bo Johansson (Sweden). Children's choir. Choir: Adolf Fredriks Flickkör. Lajos Bárdos: Magos a rutafa Javier Busto: Salve Regina Egil Hovland: O come let us sing André Caplet: Sanctus Pekka Kostiainen: Jaakobin pojaat Gustav Holst: Ave Maria Samuel Barber: To be sung on the Water Arne Mellnäs: Aglepta Francis Poulenc: Petit voix 4. Master Class Zimfira Poloz (Kazhakstan / Canada). Children's choir. Choir: National Church Choir (FUK). Lyn Williams: Festive Alleluia Eleanor Daley: O my dear heart Eleanor Daley: Rise up, my love Borodin: Polovtsian Dances arr. Stephen Hatfield: O sapo Round Tables The WSCM 8 program included 5 Round Tables: 1. Choir Music as a Tool of Social Integration. Chair: Maria Guinand (Venezuela). 2. Composer's Round Table. Chair: Steen Lindholm (Denmark). 3. Exploring Choral Sound in Ancient Sacred Music. Chair: Jonathan Velasco (Philippines). 4. The Business of Choral Singing. Chair: Philip Brunelle (USA). 5. Creative and Innovative Programs. Chair: Jakob Lorentzen (Denmark). WSCM 8 Report page 10 Choral Expo The Choral Expo 2008 during WSCM 8 had 28 booths, each booth covering 9 m2. Originally the plan was to create the best and biggest symposium exposition ever on one of the big back stages of the Opera. However, an opera house is no exhibition building, and we had to realize that it was anything but simple to establish the necessary facilities. After many considerations our conclusion was that no exhibitor would be willing to pay the renting fees which would be the consequence of carrying out our original plan, and WSCM 8 itself had no possibility to act as a sponsor of the Choral Expo. On the contrary, the Symposium budget was foreseeing a nice profit from the expo, and we had to realize that this was not possible given the conditions. In order to land somewhere near break-even a change of plans was necessary, so we decided to move the expo to the biggest of the ballet rehearsal halls. This meant less costs, but unfortunately also a smaller number of booths. To minimize the economic risk for WSCM 8, the Choral Expo was contracted out to the two companies Produktionskontoret and Art Attack, who ran it as a joint venture. When the first announcement of the expo was made, the interest from music publishers, companies, organizations and institutions was not very impressive, but after a reduction of the renting fees for the booths the interest rose remarkably. At the end the number of booths might have been doubled, but due to the already mentioned establishing costs this would only have led to a big deficit in the final accounts, and at this point it was not possible anyway to find an additional room. In general the exhibitors seemed to be very satisfied. The Choral Expo had many visitors, many items were sold out, and several exhibitors had to require extra products during WSCM 8. The ballet rehearsal hall on the 4th floor of the Opera was a nice, light and friendly venue for the expo. However, the dancing floor had to be protected, which was a challenge for an exhibition with many booths and about 1.000 visitors per day. To solve this problem the Danish carpet manufacturer Ege Tæpper was approached, and the company helped the Choral Expo immensely by sponsoring a specially designed WSCM 8 carpet (see photo). The carpet also became a gimmick, as the score of the Danish composer Niels W. Gade's Morning Song was included in the design, combined with the WSCM 8 logo. The exhibitors at the Choral Expo were the following companies or institutions: St. Olaf's College Helbling Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Alfred Publishing Co (UK) Ltd Gehrmans Musikförlag Canada Cuba Sports & Cultural Festivals Bo Ejeby Förlag Cantando Musikkforlag A/S Wesmanss Musikforlag Distinguished Concerts Intl Music Information Center Finland Editions A Coeur Joie Annie Bank Edition WSCM 8 Report page 11 Carus Verlag Oxford University Press Festival 500 Mondial Choral Loto-Québec Norsk korforbund Singers Of United Lands Europa Cantat Peters edition Small World Musicfolder Music Sales Group Choral Denmark Media Audio All concerts in the Opera, the three concerts in the Tivoli Concert Hall plus the Final Concert in the Copenhagen Cathedral were recorded by DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). 13 evening concerts (each with 2 performing choirs) were recorded by the German company AVA in partnership with DR. CDs were sold by AVA in the Opera foyer each following day. During WSCM8 DR offered the following programs on our national radio channel P2: Sunday, July 20 20.00-21.00: Concert recordings and reportage. Monday, July 21 19.15-20.00: Concert recordings and reportage. Tuesday, July 22 19.15-20.00: Concert recordings and reportage. Wednesday, July 23 19.00-23.00: Direct transmission from Tivoli concerts. Thursday, July 24 19.15-20.00: Concert recordings and reportage. Friday, July 25 19.15-20.00: Concert recordings and reportage. Saturday, July 26 20.00-22.00: Direct transmission from Final Concert plus interviews from the Cathedral. Another DR channel, P4, also broadcast informations on WSCM 8. In the fall of 2008 further recordings were broadcast on P2. European radio stations have been offered the concert recordings from the Opera, and until now DR has received 85 requests from 7 radio stations. Radio journalists from USA and Canada received copies of recordings to be used for programs in their countries. TV, Video There were no Danish TV recordings, but TV teams from Finland, China and Japan visited the Symposium and made recordings. Press Journalists from USA, Canada, Germany and Sweden were present during the Symposium. Articles about the Symposium were printed in many journals on choral music all over the world. IFCM's own Choral Bulletin brought an article in each edition during the last 1½ years up to the Symposium, and ACDA's Choral Journal, the Europa Cantat Magazine and the Japanese Choral Organization all brought articles about WSCM 8, just to mention some of the most important ones. In Denmark, we had an article in the newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad before the Symposium started, plus some smaller notices. During the Symposium WSCM 8 was described in a big reportage in the newspaper Weekendavisen. In August the same newspaper brought another long article about WSCM 8. Several Musical Journals, among them the Danish conductors' journal (Kapelmesteren), the Organists' journal (Organist Bladet) and the journal for Danish Amateur Choral Federation/Danish Amateur Orchestra Federation (DAM Magasinet) featured articles on the event. Web 303.861 persons have contacted the Symposium homepage (hits), and total of 16.796 visitors were registered. WSCM 8 Report page 12 Direct presentations The WSCM 8 project was a. o. presented at the following international meetings and festivals: WSCM 7 in Kyoto, Japan IFCM General Assembly in Kyoto, Japan Europa Cantat General Assembly in Lyon, France ACDA National Convention in Miami, USA The World Choral Games in Xiamen, China The Chorus America Convention in USA Europa Cantat in Mainz The International Choir Festival of Trelew, Argentina The International Choir Festival of Magarita Island, Venezuela America Cantat in Habana, Cuba Meeting of Nordisk Korforum and SAMNAM, Oslo Meeting of Finlands Svenska Sång- och Musikförbund i Ekenäs, Finland The ABCD Choral Directors Convention in Newcastle, United Kingdom Meeting of Greenlandic conductors in Nuuk, Greenland Meeting of Körsam, Sweden Europa Cantat General Assembly in Utrecht, Holland SAMNAM General Assembly in Göteborg, Sweden Evaluations After the Symposium Choral Denmark has received many positive evaluations in words, mails and printed articles. They are still arriving, and we take the liberty of printing a few examples: Die ganze Welt der Chormusik: viele Anregungen für die Praxis und ein Konzertmarathon... (Neue Chorzeit, Germany) ... I have participated in several World Symposiums on Choral Music, in Sydney, Minneapolis, Rotterdam, Kyoto and Copenhagen. All were interesting for me as a choir conductor, but the Symposium in Copenhagen gave the strongest impression of them all... (Ingemar Månsson, Swedish conductor, in "Körledaren", journal of Swedish choir conductors). All of us at Conspirare had a truly grand time being a part of your wonderfully conceived and planned Symposium. It was an extraordinarily special honor for us to be a part of this very special gathering and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you did to make it such a meaningful and glorious celebration... (Craig Hella Johnson, conductor of the chamber choir Conspirare, USA). Our contact with choral groups of the highest level made us reflect on new ways of how to present ourselves in front of the audience... (Voicu Popescu, conductor of the Romanian Radio Children's and Youth Choir). Thank you so much for all your hard work, and for realizing such a wonderful symposium. We thoroughly enjoyed the concerts and workshops, and of course, the well thought-out Gala Concert performance. (Saeko Hasegawa (Japan), IFCM Vice President). Congratulations for this marvelous and well organized Symposium in Copenhagen! (Noël Minet, former President of Europa Cantat) WSCM 8 Report page 13 Not only has it helped New Zealand choral music as a whole, but the students who participated gained wonderful experiences in music and culture. These students cannot speak highly enough of their wonderful experiences in your beautiful city... (Moira Clarke, Key Cygnetures, New Zealand). I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the successful Songbridge in Holstebro and Copenhagen. To make it a success artistically and to create the real spirit we needed to have all the little pieces in this great puzzle in right places. We did it - all together! (Kari Ala-Pöllänen (Finland), Artistic Director of the Songbridge project). We think this Simposio was simply EXCELLENT and went beyond our expectations... The World Choral family will always remember Copenhagen, the beautiful city, the wonderful and warm friends, the unique Opera House, the boats, the churches, but especially the choirs, the music, the family and the enthusiasm and love of the Danish Choral Family... (Maria Guinand (Venezuela), IFCM Vice President and member of the WSCM 8 Artistic Committee). From what I could see and hear, both the artistic and the organizational factors of this event were of the highest standard... Copenhagen has now entered choral history with a remarkable WSCM... (Jeroen Schrijner (The Netherlands), President of Europa Cantat ). Sponsors and partners WSCM 8 was sponsored by a large number of institutions, foundations and companies: Dronning Margrethe og Prins Henriks Fond Kong Frederik og Dronning Ingrids Fond Kong Christian den Tiendes Fond Kulturministeriet Kunstrådets musikfaglige udvalg Nordisk Kulturfond CKU Center for Kultur og Udvikling A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal Bikubenfonden Augustinus Fonden Knud Højgaards Fond Oticon Fonden Gangstedfonden Erda og Christian Schrøders Fond Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni's Gavefond The Sydney Choral Foundation Wonderful Copenhagen Star Alliance Dansk Kor Forbund DAKU (Dansk Amatørkor Union) Dansk Kapelmesterforening Dansk Komponist Forenings Produktionspulje (Danish Composers' Society / KODA's Fund for Social and Cultural Purposes) WSCM 8 Report page 14 IFPI / KOPIFON Dansk Musikforlæggerforening Ege Tæpper The following institutions / co-operating partners also gave us valuable support: Det Kgl. Teater / Operaen DR Tivoli Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium Holstebro Kommune OrkesterEfterskolen, Holstebro Sankt Annæ Gymnasium Dyssegårdskirken Administration - Groups - Volunteers Head of WSCM 8: Steen Lindholm, Executive Director. Assistant Director: Thomas Kiørbye. Choral Denmark Board: Ejvind Callesen (President), Tom Møller Pedersen, Jesper Grove Jørgensen. WSCM 8 Leaders' Group: Steen Lindholm, Thomas Kiørbye, Ejvind Callesen, Tom Møller Pedersen, Jesper Grove Jørgensen, Lars-Ole Hedegaard. Administration Group: Leaders' Group plus the following persons: Leif Glud Holm, Mogens Halken, Søren Nors Nielsen, Kaare Christiansen, Edna Rasmussen, Marianne Grønholdt, Poul Emborg. Assistants: Anne Lisbeth Willerup and Sigríður J. Pétursdóttir. Executive Committee: Ejvind Callesen, Choral Denmark Tom Møller Pedersen, Choral Denmark Martin Bender, Wonderful Copenhagen Jean-Claude Wilkens, IFCM Dolf Rabus, IFCM Artistic Committee: Philip Brunelle, USA Maria Guinand, Venezuela Volker Hempfling, Germany John Høybye, Denmark Jesper Grove Jørgensen, Denmark Steen Lindholm, Denmark Jonathan Velasco, Philippines WSCM 8 Report page 15 Danish Advisory Music Committee: Pia Boysen Mogens Dahl Niels Græsholm Bent Grønholdt Jesper Holm John Høybye Helle Høyer Mogensen Jesper Grove Jørgensen Steen Lindholm Editorial Team: Leif Glud Holm Thomas Kiørbye Steen Lindholm Assistants: Anne Ørbæk Jensen Bent Mortensen Anne Lisbeth Willerup Expo Group: Ejvind Callesen Mette Haslund Lars-Ole Hedegaard Bodil Høgh Bent Påske Organizing the Volunteers: Tom Møller Pedersen Kaare Christiansen Marianne Grønholdt Søren Nors Nielsen Edna Rasmussen Opera Group: Ejvind Callesen Kaare Christiansen Poul Emborg Mogens Halken City Concerts Group: Jesper Grove Jørgensen Erik Hildebrandt Nielsen Jesper Holm Klaus Lyngbye Keld Mønniche Media: Bent Grønholdt Dolf Rabus WSCM 8 Report page 16 Internet: Helle Christiansen Communication and Press: Thomas Kiørbye Social Arrangements: Claus Hanke Tour Group: Bente Hanke Svend Mortensen Songbridge Group: Inge Marie Andersen Gitte Preussler Kari Ala-Pöllänen Sanna Valvanne Congress Organizer: ICS A/S (International Conference Services) Economy and some conclusions When the budget for WSCM 8 was planned in 2005, the balance was about 11 million DKK (around 1.47 million €) based on at least 1.600 paying participants. The last revised budget for WSCM 8 in 2008 was around 9.9 million DKK (c. 1.32 million €) based on 1.300 paying participants. The final accounts show an income of 7.514.981 DKK (c. 1.001.998 €) and expenses of 7.900.452 (c. 1.053.394 €). Thus the final result is a deficit of 385.471 DKK (c. 51.396 €), which is covered by guarantees and by the Choral Denmark organizations. The main reason for the deficit was the number of paying participants. WSCM 8 finally had 1.160 participants which we considered quite satisfactory given the conditions. Just 150 participants more, each paying on the average 400 € as registration fee, would have turned the deficit into a small profit. Looking at the participation Africa and Latin America were probably better represented than ever at a world symposium, and we also had a nice representation from Asia and South Pacific, some of these participants having to travel far and pay much money for their transportation. Even if the number of participants from North America and Europe including Scandinavia is not bad, we had expected more, but it is obvious that the expensive hotel rooms and living costs in Copenhagen combined with the low exchange rate of the US dollar at the end turned out to be prohibitive for many interested choir people. WSCM 8 Report page 17