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Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival

The countdown to this year’s Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival has begun, with the six-day programme of events now finalised and confirmation that it will be a record-breaker on all fronts.


A spectacular array of statistics reinforces the biennial event’s status as the biggest of its kind in Europe and probably the world.

The line-up for the biennial festival on May 2-7 – majoring on The Hall For Cornwall but now with 30 venues across Cornwall – will feature almost 3,000 singers in 60 choirs from 13 countries, attracting an anticipated aggregate audience of around 30,000.

Because of its rapid expansion, expenditure on the festival has increased to £120,000 for the 2007 event.

“Far from peaking second time round, the event has continued to show a remarkable growth in popularity, to such an extent that we are already having to put off additional choirs until 2009,” said festival artistic director Dr Roy Wales.

“Halls, churches and other locations across Cornwall will echo to an enormous range of choral repertoire at concerts and workshops.

“With Cornwall’s long tradition of male voice choir singing dating back to the early tin mining and fishing industries, it is hugely appropriate that the county should be hosting such a resounding modern festival.”

Male voice choirs and ensembles from Estonia, South Africa, Germany, Hungary, France, Candada, Australia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, England and Wales will be joined by many Cornish choirs in the 42 concert events.

The programme includes four international gala concerts at The Hall For Cornwall, Truro Cathedral and Truro Methodist Church. Also, two international male voice choir competitions will be held at The Hall For Cornwall and Truro Methodist Church, with a six-member international jury.

There will be 22 regional gala concerts – at Saltash, Falmouth, Newquay, St Agnes, Porthleven, Launceston, Paul, Liskeard, Padstow, Penzance, Falmouth, Redruth, Bodmin, bude, Hayle, Newquay, St Austell, Helston and St Just in Penwith.

Among other programme highlights will be festival schools concerts/workshops in Helston, Penzance, Redruth and Truro and festival lunchtime concerts at Truro Methodist Church, Truro Cathedral and the city’s Lander Art Gallery.

Special events have been lined up for the Lost Gardens of Heligan – one of several new festival venues – the Eden Project, Minack Theatre and Tate St Ives.

Choral repertoire will include new works commissioned by the festival from composers Goff Richards and Russell Pascoe.

A festival composers competition already held attracted a record 31 entries, with the winners being Tony Cliff, Andrew Goddard and Elizabeth Sidebotham. Winning entries will be performed in the festival by Cornish choirs.

Two Cornish festival choirs have been formed specially for the occasion for the first time. A boys choir of 120 singers from various primary schools and a secondary-age youth male chorus will feature in a special “Sing Out” youth male choir project..

Full details of the entire festival programme are in the printed Diary of Events, to be published in early February and which will also feature in the updated festival website (www.cornwallintmalechorfest.co.uk) from around the same time. Tickets for the various events will go on sale to the general public from March 1.

International bank HSBC is the principal sponsor of the 2007 festival, with chartered accountants Winter Rule a major sponsor. Recently secured additional sponsors include Barclays, Gould Electronics and Cornwall County Council.