Entering it's eighth year in 2010, the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (or MCE, formerly known as the Young Singers Choral Festival) was founded in 2003 by two Malaysian choral conductors, Ms Susanna Saw (now Music Director of the Young Choral Academy) and Mr Mak Chi Hoe. It aims at providing a channel for young singers to learn, interact and perform. A growing number of choral music enthusiasts have ever since been exposed to a wide spectrum of international choral trends and developments. This annual event has been instrumental in promoting choral music in Malaysia, serving as a music educational platform. Since the MCE became international in 2009, the event has raised attention on an even wider platform. Choral conductors and choirs have found the Eisteddfod in Kuala Lumpur to be a hub of choral education in the Southeast Asian Region.
This time around, the 6 day festival will commence from 1st – 6th June 2010.The Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod VII (MCE) will consist of:
1) The International Children’s & Youth Choir Competition (1st – 4th June 2010)
2) The Choral Symposium (4th – 7th June 2010)
The International Children’s & Youth Choir Competition is divided into four (4) categories :
Category 1 : Children’s Choirs (SSAA) . Age limit is 16 years old.
Category 2 : Youth Choirs of Equal Voices (SSAA or TTBB). Age limit is 19 (for females) and 25 (for males)
Category 3 : Mixed Youth Choirs (SATB) . Age limit is 25 years old.
Category 4 : Folklore. No age limit.
This competition is a MUSICA MUNDI competition and will use the MUSICA MUNDI evaluation system.
For this 2010 installment, we have invited internationally acclaimed jury from all around the world, namely Branko Stark (Croatia), Tommyanto Kandisaputra (Indonesia), Ian Lim (Malaysia) and Jonathan Velasco (Phillipines).
The Choral Symposium is open to all; children’s choirs, youth choirs, adult choirs, composers, conductors and individuals. The Symposium will focus on various choral activities in encouraging diverse choral singing exposure and choral music appreciation.
Clinicians for the Symposium are :
Jonathan Velasco, Philippines - Master class for conductors, Workshop for Youth Choirs
Aida Swenson,Indonesia - Workshop for Children Choirs
Branko Stark, Croatia - Workshop for Youth Choirs
The venue for both Competition and Symposium will be at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, otherwise known as KLPac, which is situated in Jalan Strachan, Off Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.
This is an excellent platform for all those interested in choral music and those who want to compete in a friendly but competitive international judging arena. Come and make new friends who share the same interest and garner new knowledge on choral singing, whilst working with friendly and helpful Choral Clinicians.
We look forward to seeing you here!
For further details on the fees, please contact us directly.
Information on Choral Clinicians and International Jury
Jonathan Velasco (Phillipines)Member of the International (1st - 4th June 2010)
Clinician in the Choral Symposium (June 4th - June 7th 2010)
Master class for Conductors and Workshop for Youth Choirs
Jonathan Velasco is a most sought-after choral conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in the world today. He joined the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers under Prof. Andrea Veneracion in 1981, and became its assistant choirmaster later. In 1989, he studied Choral Conducting at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule under Martin Behrmann and finished with distinction.
He is the first Asian principal conductor of the World Youth Choir and was jury for the 2002, 2004, and 2006 World Choir Games in Busan, Bremen and Xiamen. He has also judged the international choral competitions in Maasmechelen (Belgium), Budapest (Hungary), Tolosa (Spain), Wernigerode and Marktoberdorf (Germany), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Jakarta (Indonesia), Gyeongnam (Rep. of Korea) and Hong Kong.
Velasco regularly holds choral clinics and workshops in Manila as well as in the USA, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. He is the President of the Philippine Choral Directors' Association (PCDA) and currently conducts the Ateneo Chamber Singers (www.jonathanvelasco.weebly.com).
Branko Stark, Croatia
Member of the International Jury (1st - 4th June)
Clinician in the Choral Symposium (June 4th - June 7th)
Master class for Conductors and Workshop for Youth Choirs
Branko Stark (1954), composer, choral director and voice instructor, is a teacher at the Arts Academy (University of Split-Croatia). He has written over two hundred compositions for which he is the recipient of numerous awards. He teaches singers, choral directors, actors, speech therapists, phoneticians and speakers and also engages in voice rehabilitation.
Mr. Stark participated in more than 30 scientific symposiums and has been guest professor at many faculties in Croatia and abroad. His speciality is voice theory and its scientific-pedagogic research and works published on this subject. He holds seminars, master classes, lectures and workshops for choral conductors and singers worldwide (Argentina, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, Slovenia, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, France, Austria, South Africa). Mr. Stark is also a prominent adjudicator for many international choral competitions (Germany, Austria, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Italy, Korea, Croatia).
He is President of the Croatian Choral Directors Association, head of the Vocal Academy, a member of the World Choir Council and Advisor for Croatia in the International Federation for Choral Music (www.brankostark.com).
Aida Swenson, Indonesia
Clinician in the Choral Symposium (June 4th - June 7th)
Workshop for Children’s Choirs
Aida Swenson is the Founder and Conductor of the Indonesian Children – Youth and Cordana Choirs. Under her direction the choirs have received awards and recognitions internationally and gave concerts in Washington D.C, San Fransisco, Miami, and other major cities in the United States, Germany, Poland, Japan, Philippine and Singapore and other Asian countries.
The choir has been invited to perform at the World of Children's Choirs in Vancouver 2001, Asia Pacific Choral Symposium, Singapore 2001, and for the American Choral Directors Association Convention in Los Angeles 2005 and again in February 2007 in Miami, Florida. The choir has also been invited to perform at the World Choral Symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Vienna, Austria in July 2008.
She is a graduate of the Westminster Choir College,. Princeton, USA, where she received her degree in Church Music and Choral Conducting with a scholarship from the World Council of Churches. She studied choral conducting with Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, Robert Shaw and Dr. Frauke Hausmann. As a member of the Westminster Choir, she had sung under the baton of various conductors, including, Leopold Stokowski, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein, Robert Shaw.
Aida has spent over 20 years traveling throughout Indonesia, creating and leading choirs and children choirs throughout provinces and engaged in giving master classes and training choral conductors. One of the results of these efforts was witnessed with the performance of the World Children Choir concert "Children Raise Their Voices".
Her professional activities, among others, Chairman of the Foundation for the Development of Choral Music in Indonesia (LPPN), member of Board of Advisors of the Indonesian Institute of Church Music, Executive Director of the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra.
Founder and conductor of the Indonesian Children and Youth Choir- Cordana.
A sought after clinician, she conducts workshops nationally and internationally among others, at the World Children Choir Symposium in Vancouver and International Federation of Choral Music-Asia Pacific Choral Symposium in Singapore as well as being an adjudicator to numerous national and international events among others she was one of the jurors at the 3rd Choir Olympic, July 2004, in Bremen, Germany, and at the 4th World Choir Olympic held in Xiamen, China, July 2006 and at Johannes Brahms Choir Competition in Wernigerode, Germany, July 2007 and In Singapore April 2008.
Some of the awards received include Great State of California: Governor’s Award for Exceptional Expertise, Talent, and Dedication in 1997, ASEAN Woman in Music Award in 1998 as one of three outstanding Indonesian women musicians and composers. She is in the "Who is who in Choral Music".
Tommyanto Kandisaputra, Indonesia
Member of the International Jury (1st - 4th June)
Tommyanto Kandisaputra was Founder, Music Director and Conductor of Studio Cantorum Choir & Orchestra, Bandung, which actively serve various churches in Bandung and several cities in Indonesian and of some choirs in Indonesia which have achieved rewards and prizes in many international choir competitions and festivals.
As President of Bandung Choral Society he organized a Symposium on Church Choral Music in 2003, 2005 & 2007, he collaborated with many international choirs, speakers and experts.
Nowadays, he actively holds many choir development programs by giving seminars, workshops, voice building, and choir clinics and organizing competitions.
Furthermore in 2006 he was chosen to represent Indonesia in World Choir Council. As chairman of INTERKULTUR Indonesia he is promoting the series of competition of INTERKULTUR Germany.
He was Artistic Director of the 1st Asian Choir Games, Jakarta 2007 (Indonesia) and member of the Executive Committee of the 5th World Choir Games 2008, Graz (Austria).
He is the Artistic Director of North Sulawesi International Choir Competition 2008 in Manado and also Artistic Director of the Tomohon International Choir Competition 2009, Tomohon, both on North Sulawesi (Indonesia).
Moreover, he is collaborating with the IFCM – International Federation for Choral Music and since 1999 organizing the annual audition and sent several good singers for the World Youth Choir.
Ian Lim, Malaysia
Member of the International Jury (1st - 4th June)
Ian Lim Kean Seng obtained his Bachelors degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas and Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Southeastern Louisiana University. He received his choral training under the guidance of Professor Mel Ivey, Dr. Brad Richmond and Dr. Susan Conkling.
Since returning from the United States, Ian has devoted his time to teaching voice and choir. He is presently the Choir Director of Dithyrambic Singers, University College Sedaya International Chamber Choir and University College Sedaya International Choir. In 2005, Dithyrambic Singers were awarded a Gold Diploma at the Voyage of Songs International Choir Competition in Shah Alam, Malaysia. In the following year, they won three Gold Medals and two Silver Medals at the Hong Kong International Youth & Children's Festival. In November 2007 they participated in the 1st Asian Choir Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, winning the Championship in the Musica Comtemporanea Category and a Silver Medal in the Mixed Choir Category. In April 2008, he conducted three performances in Brunei upon the invitation of the Brunei Music Society and also a master class for Jerudong International School.
Ian adjudicates singing and choral competitions all across the nation and is in demand as a choral clinician. He has conducted master classes with the Penang State Symphony Choir, Young KL Singers and in 2005 was invited by the Macau Education Ministry to conduct a masterclass for their choral directors. In May 2007, Ian was a guest tutor in the 5th Kuala Lumpur Young Singers Choral Festival. In addition, Ian had worked closely with the Lyric Opera of Malaysia and was the Chorus Master for their productions of “Tosca” and “The Merry Widow”. Additionally, in 2007 he was the Choral Director for the Malaysian National Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
His students have been selected to represent Malaysia in both the World Youth Choir and the Asian Youth Choir. Ian currently lectures in University of Malaya and University College Sedaya International.
