Ukrainian choir wins European Grand Prix for Choral Singing 2023

Chamber Choir Sophia from Kiev, directed by Olexii Shamrytskyi, was awarded first prize in the 2023 European choral Grand Prix in Debrecen, Hungary on 29 April.

Winner of the 2022 Tolosa Choral Competition 2022, the choir from Kiev was founded in 2008 by director Ivan Bogdanov, with Olexii Shamrytskyi taking over in 2010 while still a student of the National Music Academy of Ukraine. The group is a regular participant in major festivals and competitions.

The other European Grand Prix finalists were the Basque Youth Choir (Basque Country, Spain – winner of the Tolosa Choral Competition 2021) and En Kör (Stockholm, Sweden – winner of Concorso Polifonico Internazionale Guido D’Arezzo 2022).

The competition jurors were Péter Erdei (Hungary), Peter Broadbent (Great Britain), Nicole Corti (France), Helena Fojkar Zupančič (Slovenia) and Theodora Pavlovitch (Bulgaria).

Photo: Sophia Chamber Choir on stage at the final of the 2023 European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Debrecen © Aitor Imaz Larreta