Merchant Taylors Girls' Choir Strikes Gold at European Choir Games

Great success for Merchant Taylors Girls

Our very own Amabile choir has won gold at the European Choir Games – the Olympic Games of Choral music – in Sweden.

Representing Great Britain, Amabile were crowned winners of their competition and were awarded Gold. The girls also won a silver medal to add to their collection of accolades, putting the country firmly on the medals table.

Amabile took part in the event in Norrkoping, home of the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra, 160km south of Stockholm and performed over several days and received many plaudits for the outstanding quality of their performance. Indeed, they have been invited to perform at the event for the next five years.

The trip included a remarkable workshop with internationally-acclaimed choral director, Michael Joseph Barrett. Michael guided the girls through a series of warm-up challenges, which helped enhance their choral abilities and he then proceeded to teach them a new song and style of singing, specifically Ke nna yo Morena, a traditional Sesotho piece from South Africa.

Amabile performed one last time at the Friendship Concert on Saturday, alongside choirs from Greece and Sweden. This was followed by a spontaneous rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah with their new Greek friends, demonstrating the essence of the event; fostering connections with renowned choirs from different countries, exchanging ideas and learning from one another.

Later in the evening, the girls had the privilege of attending the Sacred Music, featuring three of the world’s top choirs from Denmark, Sweden and Italy, and they were amazed by the spectacle.

After winning the Girls’ Schools Association Choir of the Year contest in Warwick earlier this year, Amabile qualified and then reached the finals of the European Choir Games.

Bridget Ward, head of the Girls’ School at Merchant Taylors’, said: “What a fantastic achievement for Amabile. We are incredibly proud of the girls and our music staff for the enormous amount of work and preparation they have put in to reach international standard, building on their success at the national GSA Choir of the Year event.

“Over several months, the girls have rehearsed regularly and even changed some of their lifestyle habits in order to protect and preserve their outstanding voices, while also maintaining their academic studies and other school commitments. The whole of Merchant Taylors’ can be proud of their outstanding success.”