International Federation for Choral Music

Our original plans for the March IFCMeNEWS were quite different until life was interrupted suddenly and dramatically by two unfortunate earthquakes about 1000 km from İstanbul. More than 40,000 voices were muted under the rubble, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Having served as a historical bridge between various religious, culinary, and musical traditions for thousands of years, Antioch was almost completely erased from maps. We maintained high hopes throughout the retrieval process and cried out of joy with each miraculous rescue. We are deeply touched by the Mexican rescue dog Proteo dying on duty. All the world embraced our pain. We are grateful for the local and international aid, and we pray for all the victims of the devastating disaster.

The fault line moved the ground up to 3.5 metres to the west in the epicentre. We spent the month mourning, with concerts being cancelled and some choirs in the region hit by the earthquakes actually dissolving. Nevertheless, it was again music that brought us together. Our pain was alleviated by choral performances from friends abroad dedicated to the victims, and donations of huge amounts were collected during aid concerts in different parts of the world. We feel indebted to the support and solidarity of the international choral community.

Our efforts to revive keep us together in the preparations for WSCM in İstanbul. We have experienced the healing effect of choral music immediately after the catastrophe. We believe the solidarity in choral music will rejuvenate us further. Now there is another meaning attached to the WSCM 2023 theme on our side; Changing Horizons are possible as long as we stand together and sing together. We are looking forward to coming together in solidarity. See you in April in İstanbul.

The World Symposium on Choral Music will take place in Istanbul 25-30 April 2023. Standard registration closes on 1 March 2023. Read more about the WSCM 2023 on the website!