Let the Peoples Sing
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The Copenhagen Girls Choir wins the Silver Rose Bowl at Let the Peoples Sing 2024!
Copenhagen Girls Choir (Christian Larsen)
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The Copenhagen Girls Choir (Denmark, entered by Danish Radio) has won the prestigious Silver Rose Bowl, the highest honour of the competition at Let the Peoples Sing (LTPS) 2024. Triumphing with works by Matti Borg, Maurice Duruflé and Karin Rehnqvist, the Copenhagen Girls Choir was also awarded the Children and Youth category. In addition, Hägersten A Cappella (Sweden, entered by Swedish Radio) won in the Adult category with works by Frank Martin, Sven-David Sandström and Libby Larsen. For the first time ever, the European Choral Association Youth Committee awarded their special Youth Jury Prize to incantanti (Switzerland, entered by Swiss Romansh Radiotelevision), further recognizing outstanding talent in the competition. The 2024 LTPS Jury gathered at the BBC Broadcasting House and was co-chaired by Jonathan Manners, Director/BBC Singers and Inari Tilli Journalist/Yle, with EBU Members:
Guest jurors were Bob Chilcott, Conductor and Composer and Pumeza Matshikiza, Soprano. The eight finalist choirs from Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Switzerland competed in a joint live radio event held on 6 October 2024, performing remotely from their home countries. The EBU is grateful to the BBC for producing and coordinating the broadcast. The co-chairs of the Jury listening from the BBC studios, carefully evaluated each performance and commented: “It was wonderful to hear such a wide variety of choral music in so many different styles being performed from around Europe. We were impressed with the high standards of singing on display from Youth and Adult category alike. Singing together is so important to our cultural identity and for our health, and is alive and well throughout Europe!” Alba Roorda Martínez, chair of the European Choral Association Youth Committee, added: “We unanimously agree that our winner for the youth award is incantanti from Switzerland! They had a very fun, challenging, versatile, and stimulating program, which they delivered with great conviction and enthusiasm. We felt like we listened to a full concert program in 8 minutes, and we could hear how much fun they were having - which made it a lot of fun to listen to for us and other young audiences!” The LTPS finals were broadcast on 15 EBU Member radio stations – 9 airing live and 6 to broadcast in the next few days – to a potential audience of 129,4 million individuals, potentially reaching 5,2 million listeners. |
2024 Finalists
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ADULT CATEGORY |
CHILDREN / YOUTH CATEGORY |
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KYN (Finland) |
Copenhagen Girls Choir (Denmark) |
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Juventus (Latvia) |
Chorus Iucundus (Finland) |
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Encore (Estonia) |
incantanti (Switzerland) |
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Hägersten A Cappella (Sweden) |
BNR Children's Choir (Bulgaria) |
You can order the Finals concert via MUS under reference SM/2024/06/03/01.
Recordings selected at the semi-finals are available in MUS, under reference SM/2024/01/33/01-08.
Listen to the Finals
You can listen to the Finals on catch-up on the following channels:
Danish Radio P2 (Denmark)
ERR Klassikaraadio (Estonia)
Yle Radio 1 (Finland)
WDR 3 / ARD (Germany)
RÚV Rás 1 (Iceland) - broadcast on 16 October
RTÉ lyric fm (Ireland)
Latvijas Radio 3 (Latvia)
NRK Klassisk (Norway)
Swedish Radio P2 (Sweden)
RTR (Switzerland)
SRF 2 Kultur (Switzerland)
Suspilne Ukraine Radio Cultura - broadcast on 16 October
The competition
More than just a competition, Let the Peoples Sing (LTPS) has been a jubilant celebration of amateur choral singing since 1961. The competition aims to honour, stimulate and give amateur choral singing greater exposure to international audiences through broadcasts on various EBU radio channels. EBU radio organizations can enter one amateur choir in each of the two categories: Children and Youth, and Adult. A winner is declared in each category, but only one of these winners is awarded the coveted Silver Rose Bowl. The competition is usually held every two years, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not taken place since 2021. The last edition took place in Autumn 2024 in the form of a joint live radio event - a multiplex broadcast with competing choirs performing from their home countries.
Let the Peoples Sing would not be possible without the technical support of BBC Radio 3.
Finals Jury
See the list of jurors for the 2024 Finals
Youth jury
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For the first time, the European Choral Association Youth Committee collaborated with the competition. Representatives from the committee awarded the Youth Jury prize to Swiss choir incantanti (entered by RTR). |
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Key dates
"It’s a privilege to be a part of Let the Peoples Sing – a competition which celebrates the rich tapestry of amateur choirs from around Europe. Hearing the versatility and skill of the brilliant choirs who take part showcases the importance of choral music, and more the joy of singing together, which is infectious. The standard of choirs within the competition is exceptionally high, and I relish the opportunity to be involved again in LTPS to hear more of our best choirs."
Jonathan Manners – Producer | BBC Singers and artistic co-chair of Let the Peoples Sing
"I am happy that I can participate in continuing the story of this traditional choir competition. Let the Peoples Sing is a competition that allows talented choirs to showcase their skills to an audience of millions. Radio listeners, on the other hand, get to enjoy a wide range of choral singing from many different countries. Choral singing is an excellent tool for cultural exchange. I am looking forward to discovering what kind of achievements the choirs will reach in the next competition and what kind of repertoire we will hear from them."
Inari Tilli – Editor | Yle Radio 1 and artistic co-chair of Let the Peoples Sing
History
The history of the Let the Peoples Sing (LTPS) Euroradio Choral Competition can be traced back to 1961, when it was founded by the BBC as an annual contest for British choirs, and from 1966, was opened to ensembles throughout Europe. From the late 1970s, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) then began to organize it as an entirely international event which included choirs from North America and Asia, singing repertory from various genres, languages or traditions.
Finals Jury
Jonathan Manners
Co-ChairDirector, BBC Singers (United Kingdom)
Inari Tilli
Co-ChairJournalist, Yle (Finland)
Bob Chilcott
Guest JurorConductor and Composer (United Kingdom)
Pumeza Matshikiza
Guest JurorSoprano (South Africa)
Natalia Popudribko
Head of the Art Fund Department of Chief Editorial Office for Music Programmes, Radio Kultura, Suspilne (Ukraine)
Albert Torrens
Programme Editor, Catalunya Música (Spain)
Anna Veismane
Composer, Music Producer, Latvian Radio 3 Klasika (Latvia)
Susanne Vongries
Manageress, Bavarian Radio Choir (Germany)