From April 7th to 11th, the international competition-festival “Golden Voices of Montserrat” took place on the Costa Brava coast in the city of Lloret de Mar. This season, 8 groups from five European countries participated. Live emotions, loud applause, and the flow of delightful music can be seen in our video report.
On the first day of the festival, participants from Lithuania, Romania, Turkey, Belgium, and Georgia performed at the Opening Ceremony of the competition at Sant Romà Church. Contestants had the opportunity to get to know each other and test the sound of their voices before the competition day.
On April 8th, the Golden Voices of Montserrat group competition took place. Especially for this event, a respected jury was invited, whose members were:
- Joan Carles Capdevila Torné, arranger, composer, studio singer, member of various “a cappella” groups, instrumentalist in various musical formations. He also works in advertising and teaches in the field of Musical Theater. Within the classical aspect, he participates in choral singing, opera. Orchestration and symphonic arrangements.
- Bernardo Latini, composer, choral conductor, and music teacher. His music has won 16 awards at national choral composition and/or arrangement competitions, and samples of his work are available from various publishers in Austria, Germany, USA, Catalonia, and Argentina.
- Xavier García Cardona, conductor, pianist, and composer graduated in orchestra conducting from the Conservatori del Liceu in Barcelona. Artistic director of the chamber music series “Estones de Clàssica” at the Ateneu de Sant Just Desvern and a member and collaborator of the Spanish Association of Choir Directors (AEDCORO).
Participants were able to demonstrate their talents in choral singing in the nominations “children’s choir,” “academic singing,” “world sacred music,” “folklore,” “youth choir of m.v.”
After the performances, the contestants took part in a choral singing master class by Bernardo Latini, where they were able to learn a common song called “Enchantress Peace.” You can see the performance of this composition and the brightest choir numbers again on the Fiestalonia Milenio YouTube channel.
At the end of the Golden Voices of Montserrat festival, the award ceremony for the winners and prize-winners took place. The Grand Prix of the competition went to the group from Georgia – the Kutaisi Song State Academic Choir.
| Kutaisi Song State Academic Choir / KUTAISI, GEORGIA teacher: Ketevan Bantsadze, director: Zeinab Burjanadze, conductor: Ketevan Bantsadze | folklore | GRAND PRIX 100 points |
| Kodály Zoltán Children’s and Youth’s Choir from Marosszek / SZOVÁTA, ROMANIA teacher: Gabriella Czakó, director: Eva M.Vera Nagy, conductor: Gabriella Czakó, accompanist: Gáspár Krasznai | world sacred music | Golden diploma from 90 to 99 points |
| “Andrei Saguna” Choir / BRASOV, ROMANIA teacher: Andrada Muresan, conductor: Andrada Muresan, accompanist: Rares Buteica | children’s choir | Golden diploma from 90 to 99 points |
| European School Brussels 1 Secondary Choir / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM conductor: Joanna Musko, accompanist: Agnieszka Zywert | academic singing | Golden diploma from 90 to 99 points |
| VILNIUS GEDIMINAS TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC CHOIR “GABIJA” / VILNIUS, LITHUANIA director: Anna Miščenko | world sacred music | Golden diploma from 90 to 99 points |
| KIVI KIDS / VILNIUS, LITHUANIA teacher: : Vaiva Kriščiokaitytė, director: Vaiva Kriščiokaitytė | children’s choir | Silver diploma from 80 to 89 points |
| Kodály Zoltán Children’s and Youth’s Choir from Marosszek / SZOVÁTA, ROMANIA teacher: Gabriella Czakó, director: Eva M.Vera Nagy, conductor: Eva M.Vera Nagy and Gabriella Czakó, accompanist: Gáspár Krasznai | academic singing | Silver diploma from 80 to 89 points |
| FMV PRIVATE ISIK HIGH SCHOOL NISANTASI CHOIR / ISTANBUL, TURKEY teacher: Eren Bayrak, director: Eren Bayrak, conductor: Eren Bayrak, accompanist: Arda Şahin | children’s choir | Silver diploma from 80 to 89 points |
| European School Brussels 1 Secondary Choir / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM conductor: Joanna Musko, accompanist: Agnieszka Zywert | world sacred music | Silver diploma from 80 to 89 points |
| VILNIUS GEDIMINAS TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC CHOIR “GABIJA” / VILNIUS, LITHUANIA director: Anna Miščenko | youth choirs of mixed voices | Silver diploma from 80 to 89 points |
| Chamber choir “Druskininkai” / DRUSKININKAI, LITHUANIA director: Laurynas Vakaris Lopas | world sacred music | Silver diploma from 80 to 89 points |
On the last day of the festival, an outdoor concert was held in the basilica of the Montserrat monastery, which received many reviews from hundreds of spectators. Special ovations were given to the choirs from Georgia and Belgium.
Do you want to participate in the International Choir Contest “Golden Voices of Montserrat” 2025? Then follow the link and submit your application to participate!
