International Federation for Choral Music

Are you or any of your choristers/students...

• Between 17 and 26 years old on July 1, 2020,
• A passionate choral singer,
• From a background of basic or semi-professional music education,
• Ready to meet new friends all over the world,
• Able to speak English at an intermediate level,
• Seeking a different professional challenge, and
• Eager to learn in a multicultural environment?

Then you are ready to apply for the 2020 World Youth Choir!

In July and August 2020, the World Youth Choir will have a special session in the frame of the festivities for the Beethoven 250th Birthday Anniversary Year. Joining the National Youth Orchestra of Germany (Bundesjugendorchester), the 2020 WYC programme will be Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and a commissioned work by Tan Dun entitled Nine.

• Session dates: July 30, 2020 (day of arrival) to August 20, 2020 (day of departure).
• Location: Rehearsal session in Bonn, Germany, followed by a tour with concerts in Bonn (DE), Berlin (DE), Einbeck (DE), Lübeck (DE), Amsterdam (NL), Weikersheim (DE), Kassel (DE), Sterzing (IT), and Vienna (AT).
• First concert: August 8, 2020 - Beethoven 2020 Gala concert with the first performance of Tan Dun’s Nine.
• Artistic Team: Tan Dun (USA), composer of the commissioned work, will conduct the first concerts in the tour, including the Gala concert in Bonn; Jörn Hinnerk Andresen (Germany) will conduct the remaining concerts. Soloists will be World Youth Choir alumni.

Additional opportunity

The European Choral Association – Europa Cantat (ECA-ED), one of the patrons of the World Youth Choir, will be organizing a special European Youth Choir for the final concert of the Beethoven Anniversary year 2020 on December 17, 2020. The choir will also perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble conducted by Daniel Barenboim. In addition, they will perform a short a cappella programme directed by Simon Halsey (UK), who will also prepare the choir. Singers under 30 with a European citizenship or living in a European country can apply for this project with the same audition material as for the World Youth Choir. However, the deadline for applications for the European Youth Choir is October 31, 2019. For more information about this additional opportunity, see www.EuropeanChoralAssociation.org —> activities.

Important Dates (World Youth Choir and European Youth Choir auditions)

• September-November 2019 - Worldwide recruitment via national recruiters and/or direct application for countries without national recruiters. The official audition information will be available via the WYC website and social media. Please also visit https://www.worldyouthchoir.org/national-recruiters for information on the recruiters in your country.
• October 31, 2019 - Deadline for applying to the ECA-EC for the project with Daniel Barenboim and Simon Halsey as an additional opportunity.
• December 1, 2019 - Deadline for submitting audition materials to the international jury for the 2020 World Youth Choir session. NOTE: Audition deadline dates in countries with National Recruiters may be earlier in order to facilitate national juries.
• End of January/ beginning of February 2020 - The international jury will announce the selected singers for the World Youth Choir 2020 summer session.

See WYC website for more audition details.