Qatar Primary School Choir of the Year (QPSCoY) competition returned with a bang for its third edition, lined up with 15 choirs from different schools in Doha, Mesaieed, Al Wakra and Dukhan .
Organised by Doha College and held at the InterContinental Hotel The City over three days, the contest was aimed at developing choral singing among children in Qatar, offering a platform to meet and learn from peers, perform to a wide audience, and enjoy a dose of healthy competition.
QPSCoY was launched in 2017 and sparked huge interest in choral singing, with new choirs formed especially for the competition and existing choirs attracting great numbers of new members. The standards have grown year on year, to heights that seemed unattainable a few years ago.
Biggest Choral Workshop in Qatar
One of the highlights of the three-day event was the biggest choral workshop ever held in the country, involving over 700 children singing together. They were thrilled with the new techniques, beats and tunes learned under the inspiring leadership of Greg Beardsell, a world-renown choral expert who flew from the UK especially for the event. Greg was the lead adjudicator of the competition, joined by other members of the panel: Sonja Park (world-class musician and co-founder of Moving Young Artists, Qatar National Music Competition and International Chamber Music Concerts Series for Peace and Unity), Giovanni Pasini (chief conductor of Qatar Youth Orchestra and Qatar Chamber Choir), and Olga Protopopova (Principal of the International Centre for Music in Doha).
Qatari composer Dana Alfardan, who wrote the song ‘Wings of the Falcon’ for the inaugural competition in 2017, was thrilled to reprise her role as QPSCoY Ambassador. She joined the choral workshop to record with all 700 children singing the rousing anthem together.
Mark Young, conductor of winners Descant from Dukhan English School and himself awarded as best conductor, spoke about his choir’s achievement.
Descant comprises 47 children from Years 5 and 6, representing a diverse cross-section of the school community, who have passion for singing and enjoy performing. Music is a popular subject, hobby and passion for many of the children, who perform at high standards both in vocal and instrumental competitions and examinations. The children invested their hearts and as a result, the many tears that were shed reflected just how much this recognition meant to every one. It has been a privilege for our children to perform alongside other school choirs and be involved in such an outstanding musical experience.’
DC Principal Dr Steffen Sommer expressed his delight at the success of QPSCoY 2019.
Yet again, Doha College has contributed to generating and promoting excellence in Qatar. The musical talent, precision of coaching and musicianship displayed made it clear that the competition has now reached a level which will, almost by default, lead to more searching challenges in the future and, with it, generate yet a higher level of performance. Having created such a self-perpetuating culture of excellence is a noteworthy contribution to the vision for Qatar 2030.’
Winners
- Dukhan English School Descant (First Place and Conductor Award – Mark Young)
- King’s College Concert Choir (Second Place and Voice Skills Award)
- Doha English Speaking School Voice Squad (Third Place)
- Doha College Fortes (Stagecraft Award)
- Sherborne Qatar Prep School Choir (Repertoire Award)
Other Participants
- American Community School
- American School of Doha Dragon Voice Squad
- Doha British School – Ain Khaled
- Doha British School – Al Wakra
- Doha College Cantabile
- Doha College Prestos
- Doha English Speaking School Cantabile
- GEMS Wellington School
- Mesaieed International School Primary Choir
- Swiss International School Qatar
QPSCoY would like to thank their sponsors this year: InterContinental Hotel The City, 51 East Music Square, Fnac Qatar and Symphony Events and Productions. For more information about the competition, visit dohacollege.com.
