One thousand people sat in complete silence as the choirs concentrated, working to produce the perfect intonation and pitch, and singing as one voice.
Then – thunderous applause.
Audiences on their feet, clapping, yelling, witnessing extraordinary musicality, precision, costuming, choreography, and flat-out energy; at the Grand Finale, weeping, when 500 voices were raised to sing “This is My Song” from Finlandia.
This was the setting of the first California International Choral Festival & Competition, 2007. Sold-out houses, exhilarated audiences, choirs performing at their peak; it was an experience the community will long treasure.
We are inviting choirs from around the world to join us for the California International Choral Festival & Competition, 2009, which will take place June 26-28 in the Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. This Festival promises to be even better and more memorable.
We’re adding more seats for the performances to accommodate last year’s sold-out houses. We’ve changed the invitation to allow even larger choirs to participate. Only eight choirs will be chosen to participate, based on their audition tapes.
Stay tuned. We will update this web site as we continue to ready for June, 2009.
Photos by Patrick Swadener
Excerpts from
"It's For Music" ©2000 Dale Wolff and Barbara Hoff
Updated on Sunday, May 4, 2008