• Five Catalan composers have been awarded in the 2nd International Choral Music Competition "Festa de la música coral" and the 7th International Awards "Catalonia" in coral composition
•  The Festa de la Música Coral, the event in which the winning works will be premiered, will take place on March 4, 2018 at the Palau de la Música Catalana

On Thursday July 27 has been announced the verdict of the Second International Choral Music Competition "Festa de la música coral" (organized by the Orfeó Català) and the verdict of the Seventh International Awards “Catalonia” in coral composition 2017 (which promotes the Federació Catalana d'Entitats Corals), both contests convened in November 2016.

The announcement of the verdict took place at the beginning of the concert that Orfeó Català, as host choir, Elektra Women's Choir (from Canada) and Ensemble Vine (from Japan) offered at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in the framework of the World Symposium of Coral Music 2017. The president of the Association Orfeó Català, Mariona Carulla, and the president of the Federació Catalana d’Entitats Corals (FCEC), Montserrat Cadevall, announced the winning works.

The winning works will be premiered at the Palau de la Música Catalana on Sunday, March 4, 2018 during the Festa de la Música Coral event, a biannual celebration that constitutes a joint celebration of the Catalan choral family. The event promotes at the same time the new creation of choral music, both nationally and internationally, and the significant recovery of the musical heritage of Catalan composers of previous eras. The wining composers will attend the event to collect their respective prizes. The choirs that will participate in this edition will be Orfeó Català (Simon Halsey, choirmaster), Female Young Choir from the Orfeó Català (Buia Reixach, choirmaster), Coral Sant Jordi (Oriol Castanyer, choirmaster) and Children ChoirL'ARC de l'EMM Can Ponsic (Ester Bonal, choirmaster).

Verdict of the Second International Choral Music Competition "Festa de la música coral"

• Best Choral Music Composition for mixed voices “Maria Font Bernaus”, of 2.500 € has been givento Llorenç Balsach’s piece Llum, and Carles Prat Vives work She walks in beauty, ex aequo.
• Best Choral Music Composition for equal voices, of 1.000 €, has been granted to Carles Prats Vives work Poema del bosc (IV)

• Best Choral Music Composition for children's voices, of 1.000 €,  has been given to Gerard López Boada’s work Paó.

• Special mention for the best work on Catalan text, of 500 €, has been granted to Josep Alarcón Carlín’s Poema de la rosa als llavis: “Si anessis tan lluny” and “Quina grua el meu estel”, with a text from Joan Salvat-Papasseit catalan poet.

The second edition of the Secons International Choral Music Competition "Festa de la música coral" (organized by the Orfeó Català) has had a greater participation than the first edition, with a total of 90 works presented, 58 in the category of mixed choir, 21 in the female choir category and 11 in the children's choir category. Among the participants, with a large number of Catalan composers, there are composers from countries such as China, India, Venezuela, Cuba, Uruguay, Argentina, Serbia, Hungary, Germany and Spain. The jury in charge of the deliberations of the prizes was formed by Simon Halsey, choirmaster of the Orfeó Català; Pablo Larraz, vice principal choirmaster of the Orfeó Català; Joan Magrané, composer; Xavier Puig, choirmaster and Júlia Sesé, choirmaster.

Verdict from Seventh International Awards “Catalonia” in coral composition 2017 (FCEC)

• CHORAL COMPOSITION “a cappella”, upon a text in Catalan language, for mixed voices. Medium/ Low performing level, to Bernat Giribet Sellart’s work Abril.
• HARMONIZATION "a cappella" of “Catalan Countries traditional songs”, for mixed voices. Medium/Low performing level to Bernat Giribet Sellart’s work El testament d’Amèlia.

The categories of composition of choral music a cappella over a text in Catalan for equal voices and the harmonization "a capella" of “Catalan Countries traditional songs” for equal voices have not been awarded.

The Seventh International Awards “Catalonia” in coral composition 2017 has had a majority of Catalan participation, with the exception of one Argentinian, one French, one Hungarian and one Italian. There have been 36 works, with a predominance of works for mixed choir (16 in the category of new composition with text in Catalan and 14 in the category of traditional song harmonization). The jury of this edition has been formed by Xavier Pastrana, choirmaster; Josep Lluís Valldecabres, composer; Bernat Vivancos, composer, and Pere Mateu Xiberta, composer and choirmaster.