XXII (2022)

THE TWENTY SECOND

The International Stasys Šimkus Choir Competition took place at the Klaipėda Concert Hall on May 12–15, 2022. A total of 40 choirs applied to participate in the competition: 4 children’s choirs, 2 youth choirs, 3 women’s choirs, 13 mixed choirs, 6 choirs in the sacred music category, 4 vocal ensembles, and 6 choirs in the folk music category from Angola, Ghana, Latvia, Poland, the United States of America, Estonia, Ukraine, and Lithuania.

The Artistic Director and Organizer of the competition was Assoc. Prof. Algirdas Šumskis, Chairman of the Board of the Klaipėda City Choral Society “Aukuras”.

Jury
Renowned choral specialists were invited to serve on the jury. The Chairman of the Jury was Prof. Jürgen Budday (Germany). The jury also included: Prof. Vytautas Miškinis (Lithuania), Prof. Artūras Dambrauskas (Lithuania), Valter Soosalu (Estonia), Tomas Ambrozaitis (Lithuania), and Secretary Dr. Greta Gyraitė (Lithuania).

Laureates
In the mixed choir category, 1st place was awarded to the Brigham Young University Choir (USA, conductor Andrew Crane).
No 1st place was awarded in the equal voices and youth choir categories.
No 1st place was awarded in the children’s choir category.
In the sacred music category, 1st place was awarded to the Brigham Young University Choir (USA, conductor Andrew Crane).
In the vocal ensemble category, 1st place was awarded to the vocal group “Imera” (Latvia, conductor Imants Točs).
In the folk music category, 1st place was awarded to the Brigham Young University Choir (USA, conductor Andrew Crane).

Main Prizes
The Grand Amber Prize and a €1,500 award were won by the Brigham Young University Choir (USA, conductor Andrew Crane).
The Small Amber Prize and a €1,000 award were not awarded this year.

Special Prizes
– The Lithuanian National Centre for Culture Prize for the best performance of a work by a national composer was awarded to the Brigham Young University Choir (USA, conductor Andrew Crane);
– The Klaipėda City Municipality Prize for the best performance of a contemporary composition was awarded to the vocal group “Imera” (Latvia, conductor Imants Točs);
– The Klaipėda City Choral Society “Aukuras” Prize for the best performance of the compulsory piece in categories A, B, and C was awarded to the Brigham Young University Choir (USA, conductor Andrew Crane);
– The Lithuanian Choral Union Prize for the most valuable competition programme was awarded to the Vytautas Magnus University Education Academy Choir “Ave vita” (Lithuania, conductor Kastytis Barisas).

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