BANGOR INTERNATIONAL CHORAL FESTIVAL 2022
CHORAL FESTIVAL RETURNS FOR A ONE DAY EVENT
Bangor International Choral Festival has returned, bringing choirs from around
the Province and UK to Bangor to compete but also in celebration of song after
two long years of no choral activity. It was an emotional but joyous day as
choirs returned to the stage to perform once more and left us all with a
wonderful sense of feeling that choral performance is backl
Our province wide choirs were on top form as usual but we also had a fabulous
choir, Cor Y Gleision, who travelled from Cardiff. A mixed choir of around 70
people who raised the venue roof with their performances in the afternoon
and evening. What a glorious sound they madel
Donaghadee Male Voice Choir returning to the Festival stage competed in the
Male Voice Choir class and were just pipped at the post by Portadown Male
Voice Choir, but what marvellous male voice renditions from both cholrs. It
made for a very difficult decision from the Adjudicator, BBC Northern Ireland's
Richard Yarr, a staunch supporter of the Festival and an amazing Adjudicator,
giving great encouragement to all competing choirs.
Open Arts Community Choir performed some beautiful pieces and as always
carried the audience with them on their choral journeys. A small choral group
with magnificent voices.
All in all a wonderful festival to be part of and to be proud of. The Mayor,
Councillor Mark Brooks, officiated both at the opening and at the Prizegiving
and the Festival Committee are indebted to Sponsors, Ards and North Down
Borough Council Arts Section, Melville Morgan Ltd., The Signature Works and
Guillemot Café, Bangor, for their financial support. Without these businesses
and indeed our volunteers, the Festival could not have been delivered.
We look forward to 2023 when the Choral Festival will celebrate the 30th
Anniversary and we hope to deliver a 4 day event again when our school choirs
as well as adult choirs will be able to participate. Dates for this event are 26-29
April 2023. Please visit our website for further details - www.bicf.co.uk
Anne B Poots
Secretary B.l.C.F.

END OF YEAR REPORT
BANGOR INTERNATIONAL CHORAL FESTIVAL 2021
As the planning stage of the 2021 Festival would nornially
begin around July it was evident that the Pandemic situation
would not allow for any planning to begin as it was
unforeseeable what the future would be.
The Committee continued to keep in contact with choirs via
email with updates, however. all choirs were rehearsing by
Zoom only and as April 2021 drew closer it was inevitable
once more, due to rising Covid cases, restrictions and indeed
lockdowns, that it was not gyoing to be possible to orgyanise
and deliver the Choral Festival.
Therefore, once more a decision was taken to cancel the
Festival for 2021.