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Happy Birthday IFCM! (Page 47)

Celebrating 30 Years

 

Dr. Michael J Anderson, IFCM President

 

In 1982 (thirty years ago in August), the International Federation for Choral Music was founded by seven national and international choral organizations: A Coeur Joie International, All-Japan Chorus League, American Choral Directors Association, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Europäischer Chorverbände, Asociación Interamericana de Directores de Coro, EUROPA CANTAT-Federation Européenne des Jeunes Chorales, Nordiska Koerkomitten-SAMNAM. In 1988 (for a few years) the former Soviet Union was accepted as a founding member. IFCM is the official representative of choral music on the International Music Council of the United Nations, and has maintained a home in Namur, Belgium; Altea, Spain; Caen, France and now in Chicago, USA.

The focus of the international leaders that summer in 1982 at the Europa Cantat Festival was to establish an entity that could be used to create spirited channels of communication between their cultures, which would provide sharing of repertoire, performance practice, education, research, exchanges, and friendships using choral music as the vehicle. This idea was so simple, yet so powerful, that for three decades people across the global community have reached across borders, extended their hands, and established relationships that will last for a lifetime.

 

Europa Cantat 2012, opening concert - Dolf Rabus © ModFestival
Europa Cantat 2012, opening concert - Dolf Rabus © ModFestival

 

It is important to note some of IFCM’s many accomplishments over the past 30 years. In perusing my papers I identified many projects that are integral to our present work, and a few that have come and gone. I hope you will join me in my appreciation for all the volunteer leaders and staff who have developed the following:

 

  • In 2014, we will celebrate the 10th iteration of the triennial World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, South Korea

 

  • World Choral Summit, held in Beijing, China

 

IFCM World Choral Summit in Beijing (2012)
IFCM World Choral Summit in Beijing (2012)
Asia Pacific Youth Choir in Beijing (2012)
Asia Pacific Youth Choir in Beijing (2012)

 

  • World Youth Choir, a project shared with partners ‘European Choral Association—Europa Cantat’, and ‘Jeunesses Musicales International’, performed most recently at the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway

 

World Youth Choir at the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo (2011) - Copy rights_Sebastian Dahl for JM Norway and Foundation World Youth Choir
World Youth Choir at the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo (2011) - Copy rights_Sebastian Dahl for JM Norway and Foundation World Youth Choir

 

  • International Choral Bulletin, published four times per year in four languages;

cropped-cover_002.jpg

 

  • Conductors Without Borders, working principally in Africa;

 

  • Musica International that brings world repertoire to our computers

 

  • International Center for Choral Music, which was the focal point of many IFCM activities for 20 years

 

  • Master classes, conducted by outstanding conductors around the world

 

  • Publications like Cantemus, and Carmina Mundi

 

  • OpusChoral, a commercial internet site for CD sales

 

  • Tagger Foundation, created to run projects from Vigevano, Italy

 

  • World Choral Day, celebrated every year on the second Sunday of December

IFCM_News_World_Choral_Day_2015_picture_2

 

  • Songbridge, bringing together composers and youth choirs

 

  • Asia South Pacific Summit, held this year in Macau, China

 

  • Korea Choral Institute, housed in Busan, South Korea

 

  • Composers Competition, in its second iteration

 

Winning piece of the IFCM International Choral Compostion Competition (2011)
Winning piece of the IFCM International Choral Compostion Competition (2011)

 

  • Choral Net, which now is run by our founding partner the American Choral Directors Association

 

  • African Children Sing! This choir comprised of youth from many countries across Africa

 

African Children Sing! in Seoul (2008)
African Children Sing! in Seoul (2008)

 

As you know, IFCM came very close to its demise in 2010. The ‘pillars of the organization’ crumpled to the extent that the thought of rebuilding it was overwhelming. It was at that moment when a friend reminded us all that the work that it would take to bring IFCM back to life was worth it because “…it is the only choral organization whose principal function is bridging that gap between world cultures.” This all-volunteer organization has relied on the positive spirit that is kept alive by the very essence of human interaction. It has become apparent to millions of people around the world that singing is the true instrument of personal expression and it elicits the very deepest of human emotions.

This was epitomized at the World Choral Summit in July 2012. Back in November of 2010, IFCM made a commitment to assist the China Choral Association to open a window of opportunity for the world to know and experience the great choral music of China. We hoped that new ways of international cooperation and exchange would develop, leading to good will, peace, and harmony. And, indeed, it did. Everyone walked away from that event feeling as though something unique had taken place; suddenly there were millions of colleagues reaching out, wanting better to know the choral world. Clearly, this innovative project was one of the most important developments in the history of IFCM.

IFCM’s 30 years has been like any human’s 30 years: rich with joy, satisfaction, astonishment, wisdom, some sadness, and best of all, connection – the encouragement of relationships between human beings, voicing their innermost vulnerabilities, sharing their deepest personal insights, and expressing them in a way that only choral music can provide. This is the magic of IFCM. Our mission is simple: assist people in exploring and exchanging their culture with others, then get out of the way and ‘enjoy the wonder’.

There are many projects currently being built that will provide countless opportunities for people to come together again and again. IFCM is alive and well and enjoying its birthday. This is in part thanks to our very enthusiastic Board of Directors, Advisors, and staff. Throughout the past three decades, there have been many who have served, with no remuneration, except the enormous payout that comes from the pleasure of seeing what can happen when ‘people come together to sing’.

 

Happy birthday to us all!

Happy Birthday IFCM!

2012-10-15
By: Michael J. Anderson
On: October 15, 2012
In: IFCM News
With: 0 Comments

Celebrating 30 Years

 

Dr. Michael J Anderson, IFCM President

 

In 1982 (thirty years ago in August), the International Federation for Choral Music was founded by seven national and inter…Read More →

Romuald Twardowski

2012-10-15
By: Andrea Angelini
On: October 15, 2012
In: Composers' Corner
With: 0 Comments

When the new and the old become original

 

Andrea Angelini, ICB Managing Editor

 

Andrea Angelini: How would you describe your compositional style?

Romuald …Read More →

Spotlight on Scotland

2012-10-15
By: Graham Lack
On: October 15, 2012
In: Choral World News
With: 0 Comments

Graham Lack, composer and ICB Consultant Editor

 

As far as I know, the ICB has not yet focussed on the music of Scotland. There is a wealth of music to be discovered and I hope this brief spotlight on the countr…Read More →

Behind the Pied Piper’s Seven Hills

2012-10-15
By: International Federation for Choral Music
On: October 15, 2012
In: Composers' Corner
With: 0 Comments

Paying a visit to Wolfram Buchenberg in the Bavarian Allgäu

 

Interview by Arne Reul

 

The music of Wolfram Buchenberg is becoming more and more established in the repertoires of numer…Read More →

VII Paparats Kvetka

2012-10-15
By: Andrea Angelini
On: October 15, 2012
In: Choral World News
With: 0 Comments

International Student Choir Forum, Minsk, Belarus, 2-6 May 2012

 

Andrea Angelini, ICB Managing Editor and Choral Conductor    

 

I had been dreaming of a trip to Belarus since I was a b…Read More →

ICB’s Language Coordinators

2012-10-15
By: Jutta Tagger
On: October 15, 2012
In: IFCM News
With: 0 Comments

A Portrait

 

Jutta Tagger, erstwhile Managing Editor, ICB

 

 

Have you ever asked yourself how it was possible for the International Choral Bulletin to be published in…Read More →

A Millennial Tradition: the Choral Art of Ukraine

2012-10-15
By: Yuri Chekan
On: October 15, 2012
In: Focus
With: 0 Comments

Yuri Chekan, Lecturer, Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music, Kyiv & Member of the National Society of Composers of Ukraine

 

Professional choral art in Ukraine spans more than a thousand …Read More →

Overtone Singing: Not Just for Monks and Shamans Anymore

2012-10-15
By: Stuart Hinds
On: October 15, 2012
In: Choral Technique
With: 0 Comments

Stuart Hinds, composer, singer, choral conductor, and teacher

 

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the popularity of overtone singing in its various forms, and choral music is no exception.  More new wor…Read More →

Una Primavera en la Música, naturalmente Coral…

2012-10-15
By: Francesco Leonardi
On: October 15, 2012
In: Choral World News
With: 0 Comments

Informe de Maribor, Cork y Basel

 

Francesco Leonardi, Gestor de Proyectos de la FIMC

 

Normalmente la primavera está asociada a una idea de renacimiento luego de un período de tranquilid…Read More →

35th Annual Chorus America Conference

2012-10-15
By: Jeanne Kelly
On: October 15, 2012
In: Choral World News
With: 0 Comments

A resounding success!

 

Jeanne Kelly, Founder and Executive Director of Encore Creativity for Older Adults

 

I have heard that if you learn one new and great thing at a conference, your a…Read More →

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