FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

The Festival programme consists of seven main areas.

1. Prestigious International Festival Gala Concerts involving 8-10 choirs from outside Cornwall and some Cornish male choirs in shared concerts. Choirs perform their own short choice of programme individually. These events will take place on Friday, Saturday and Monday nights, 30th April, 2nd and 4th May in Truro Cathedral and the Hall for Cornwall, Truro.

2. International Male Voice Choral Competitions (for larger and smaller male voice choirs) with a first prize in each category of £1000. The competition programme is "own choice" with no set test piece. The competitions will be held in the Hall for Cornwall on Saturday, May 2nd.

3. Regional Festival Gala Concerts involving between two and four choirs in different parts of the county including Saltash, St. Austell, Redruth, Bodmin, Falmouth, St. Ives, Truro, Bude, Penzance, Padstow, Newquay, Hayle, Liskeard. These Gala Concerts will also involve choirs sharing concerts and performing their own choice of selected repertoire. Concert opportunities will also be available at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Eden Project, Minack Theatre and Tate St Ives.

4. Impromptu open air performance opportunities are being negotiated with some town councils to enable choirs to perform in town squares and piazzas.

5. Festival Workshops focussing on new, interesting male voice repertoire (with the option to purchase from trade stands), voice training for choir singers and conductor training and master class sessions.

6. International Symposium on Male Voice Singing on Friday 1st May.

7. Opportunities for Sightseeing. There will be time during the Festival for all visiting choirs to visit places of tourist interest throughout Cornwall.

Choirs participating in the Festival can take part in one or more of the above seven areas. It is not obligatory for any choirs to take part in the International Competition, although it is hoped that they will wish to take the opportunity to compete in this valuable, friendly and supportive element of the Festival. It is anticipated that all participating choirs will have the opportunity to perform in at least three locations in Truro and other venues across Cornwall during the Festival. In the past it has been possible for most choirs to contribute to one of the International Gala Concerts. All have contributed to regional gala concerts.

Visiting choirs will have the opportunity to socialise with all participating choirs, possibly developing longer-term relationships for future exchanges. Social events will be organised after many of the concerts.

The main venues booked for the Festival include the impressive Truro Cathedral with its fine choir acoustics and the delightful Hall for Cornwall in Truro (a well-equipped modern, professionally-run performance complex constructed from a traditional old Cornish building in the centre of the city). Other churches, halls and theatres throughout the county will be utilised as Festival venues, together with the now famous conservation Eden Project with its unique biomes which house plant specimens from across the world and built on the site of an old Cornwall china clay pit. Other venues include the unique outdoor Minack Theatre (built high up into the Cornish cliffs overlooking the sea), the modern Tate Gallery at St. Ives and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Choirs participating in the Festival from outside Cornwall do not have to be resident in Cornwall for all five days of the Festival. It is expected, however, that all visiting choirs will come for a minimum of three nights: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Concerts and events are organised from Thursday 30th April so choirs participating from that day will be involved as soon as they arrive. Monday, May 4th is a public holiday in England. The Festival will conclude with an International Gala Concert on Monday, May 4th in the Hall for Cornwall.

PROVISIONAL FESTIVAL TIMETABLE

Wednesday April 29
Arrival of choirs / sightseeing / rehearsals
19.30 Festival Boys Choirs Gala Concert

Thursday, April 30th
Arrival of choirs / sightseeing / rehearsals
19.30 Festival Regional Gala Concerts

Friday, May 1
Daytime International Symposium on Male Voice Singing
Workshops / lunchtime concerts / sightseeing
Conducting master classes / Rehearsal for evening concerts
19.30 First International Festival Gala Concert, Hall for Cornwall, Truro
Regional Gala Concerts

Saturday, May 2
09.30 - 16.30 International Male Voice Choral Competitions, Hall for Cornwall
a) Choirs 16-40 voices b) Choirs 41 voices and over
19.30 International Festival Gala Concert, Truro Cathedral
Second International Gala Concert will include visiting and Cornish choirs
19.30 Regional Gala Concerts across Cornwall

Sunday, May 3
Morning Sightseeing, etc.
Afternoon Concerts throughout Cornwall, including the Eden Project, the Minack Theatre, Tate St Ives and the Lost Gardens of Heligan
19.30 Regional Gala Concerts across Cornwall

Monday, May 4
Morning Sightseeing
Afternoon Concerts throughout Cornwall (as Sunday)
This is a public holiday in England
19.30 Third and closing International Festival Gala Concert in the Hall for Cornwall, Truro