The Polish choir won the gold medals in the “youth choirs” and “ethno music” categories and added a silver in the “sacred music” category. It also won a special prize for the best interpretation of a work by a Taiwanese composer performed by a choir from outside of Taiwan.
The competition attracted choirs from China, South Korea, Macao and the Philippines, in addition to Taiwan and Poland. The prizewinners were decided by an international jury of composers, conductors and vocalists from the Philippines, Finland, Latvia, Taiwan, Venezuela and Hungary.
Works by Polish composers accounted for the bulk of the repertoire the Puellae Orantes presented in Taiwan, with the choir’s folk-inspired pieces earning an especially warm reception.
The Puellae Orantes Girls’ Cathedral Choir was founded in 1985. It has since recorded nine CDs and won prizes at over 20 national and international competitions. One of the choir’s CDs has claimed the prestigious Fryderyk Award of the Polish recording industry.
The Puellae Orantes choir has made numerous recordings for radio and television stations in Poland, France, the Netherlands and the Vatican.
(mk/gs)