Riga Cathedral Choir School Gospel Choir wins Baltic Sea Choir Competition
The Latvian choir won the Grand Prix in Jūrmala, Latvia, with Manila Chamber Choir finishing a close second. Hong Kong’s Professor Leon Shiu Wai Tong chaired the international jury.
Riga Cathedral Choir School Gospel Choir, conducted by Una Stade, has won the Grand Prix and Jūrmala City Cup at the ninth International Baltic Sea Choir Competition. The Latvian choir scored 95.75 points and received €3,500. It also won the Dzintari Concert Hall special prize and the award for the most engaging stage performance.
Manila Chamber Choir, conducted by Anthony G. Villanueva, finished second with 95.42 points, just 0.33 behind the winner. The choir received €2,000 and won the audience vote, the Latvian National Centre for Culture special prize and the award for the best performance of the compulsory work. Norway’s women’s choir EMBLA, conducted by Marit Tøndel Bodsberg, took third place with 94 points; Bodsberg also received the best conductor award.
The jury was chaired by Professor Leon Shiu Wai Tong of Hong Kong, founder and president of the World Youth and Children Choral Artists’ Association and artistic director of the World Choir Festival in Hong Kong. The other jurors were Rahela Duriča of Slovenia, Jurģis Cābulis of Latvia, Vilija Mažintaitė of Lithuania and Valters Sōsalu of Estonia.
Nine choirs from Latvia, the Philippines, Estonia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Norway and Georgia were listed as participants. The competition, held annually in Jūrmala since 2016, includes compulsory and free-choice programmes followed by a Grand Prix final. It has been a stage of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing since 2024, giving its Grand Prix winner the right to compete for that title.