Winton Woods Choir Wins Gold at World Choir Games | Arts & Culture

FOREST APRK, OH (FOX19) - All the weeks of hard work and practice, tired voices, repetition, postponed family vacations and volunteered time was worth it on Sunday, July 8, as the Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble won a gold medal at this year’s World Choir Games. “It was an incredible honor to perform in the championship division with the top choirs in the world and receive the recognition of a gold medal,” said Choir Director David Bell. “To be selected as being among the ‘best of the best’ is the strongest possible endorsement of our young singers and the Winton Woods City Schools music program.”

The Varsity Ensemble competed in the mixed youth competition, which included groups of male and female singers ages 12-24. “We came in fifth place overall behind Hangzhou Normal University from China who were the grand champions, Mansfield University Choir, the Lehigh Valley School for the Performing Arts, and the SKH Lam Woo Memorial High School of Hong Kong,” said Bell. Judges for the category came from the Taipei China, Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Japan and the United States.

“Winning a gold medal qualifies us to participate in the World Choir Games at the Championship Level for the next five years,” said Bell, who was asked be the guest conductor this week and warm up the 500 voice international stage choir for the closing ceremonies. Some of the members of the Varsity Ensemble will also be singing in the closing ceremony.

The next World Choir Games will be held in two years in Riga, Latvia.