4th Swiss Children's and Youth Choir Festival
Over 50 ensembles will be singing in St. Gallen from May 10 to 12.
After Zurich, Schaffhausen and Lausanne, the 4th Swiss Children's and Youth Choir Festival (SKJF) will take place in St.Gallen. Over 50 children's and youth choirs with around 1600 singers from all over Switzerland have registered for the three-day festival from May 10 - 12, 2013. This is a record number.
The public concerts will take place in the Athletik Zentrum St.Gallen, which will be transformed into a spacious concert hall with a stage as the main venue. This will provide sufficient space for the more than 50 participating festival choirs and the audience. In addition, the choirs will sing throughout the city at various concerts, in squares, church services and matinees during the festival weekend. The musical program will be developed under the direction of Bernhard Bichler from the music commission.
During the festival, there will be the opportunity to take part in the Study Tour for choir conductors led by Michael Gohl. The following points are on the program:
- Introduction to the festival program
- Attendance at selected concerts and workshops
- Discussion of the concert performances, taking into account various criteria
- Literature exhibition (with purchase option)
- Suggestions for choir conductors regarding the choice of literature and forms of performance
- Starting points and criteria for assessing the quality of children's choir conducting
The association Schweizer Kinder- und Jugendchor-Förderung SKJF was founded in Zurich on March 7, 2006. It ensures the regular organization of the festival, which takes place every two years, alternating with the European Youth Choir Festival. SKJF promotes the networking of Swiss children's and youth choirs with other projects across language borders.
