Edmonton Swiss Men's Choir - NA Festival 1997

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Edmonton Swiss Men's Choir

North American Singing Festival 1997

In July 1997 the members of the Edmonton Swiss Men’s Choir packed their bags and headed for Pennsylvania. Their destination – Seven Springs Mountain Resort just outside Pittsburgh, for the 100th anniversary of the North American Swiss Singing Alliance’s triennial competition.

Even if their hopes for a prize had been disappointed, ESMC members would have come home with a good feeling. The warm hospitality of our host choir, the Schweizer Männerchor Helvetia of Pittsburgh, made the event a memorable one.

But the icing on the cake for Edmonton was in the results. For the first time ever in the competition's century-long history, each of the three adjudicators granted a perfect mark – and it went to the guys from Edmonton!

The prize piece was "Vater Unser," a dramatic and moving new musical setting of the Lord’s Prayer by Swiss composer Kurt Müller. This piece and 18 other selections are available on the choir’s recording, Kamerade, which was issued under the Arktos label in the summer of 1997. Listen here to an excerpt.

While in Pittsburgh, the choir also presented a successful bid to host the next triennial festival. Preparations soon started for SWISS FESTIVAL 2000, which eventually saw hundreds of participants raising their voices in harmony from June 29 to July 2, 2000 in Edmonton.