1st Prize for QVE in National Choral Competition
July 6, 2011 – The Quintessential Vocal Ensemble (QVE), of St. John's, NL, conducted by Susan Quinn, has been awarded 1st Prize in the Adult mixed-voice category of the 2011 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs.
This is the third time QVE has taken the category, with previous wins in 2004 and 2008, in addition to 2nd Prize in the Contemporary Music category in 2010. The choir was founded in 1993 and is made up of about 40 singers from the St. John's area. Aside from its national honours, the choir has taken home prizes from international competitions in Wales, Ireland and France.
St. John's vocal sextet Afterglow, whose members all sing in QVE, won 1st Prize in a new category for small vocal ensembles.
The awards were presented on July 6 during the Opening Gala Concert of Festival 500 in St. John's. The biennial competition is sponsored by the Association of Canadian Choral Communities (ACCC), in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts and CBC Radio/Radio-Canada. Winners in 11 different categories were selected by a distinguished jury on the basis of submitted recordings. QVE's entry included "The Gull", a new commission by Newfoundland composer Michael Snelgrove; "Ave Maria" by American composer Morten Lauridsen; the English madrigal "As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending" composed in 1601 by Thomas Weelkes; and "Les Fleurs et les Arbres" by French Romantic era composer Camille Saint-Saens. The next competition takes place in 2013.
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