Oakwood University Aeolians Win Gold in the World Choir Games

by Adventist News Network

The Oakwood University elite choir, the Aeolians, took home three awards from the world’s largest choir completion last week. At the Seventh World Choir Games, the Aeolians won the Championship Trophy in the “Spiritual” category, besting 15 other choirs for the honor.
 
“The Aeolians … lifted our souls and the roof at the Cincinnati Masonic Center!” reported an official Twitter release from the City of Cincinnati. The 42-member group also won one of several gold medals in two other categories: “Music of Religions” and “Musica Contemporanea.” The international event was held in Cincinnati July 4 to 14. The Aeolians were the only Adventist group in the event.
 
“The Aeolians rose to the challenge and on their debut at the World Choir Games … and made a great impact,” said their director Jason Max Ferdinand. Earlier in the summer break from school, the group practiced new songs for the competition individually. They later held group rehearsals remotely using Google Plus. All 42 members met for a final rehearsal at the university campus the weekend before the competition.
 
The World Choir Games, sponsored by the Interkultur Foundation in Germany, is the world’s largest choral competition and is held every two years. This year, more than 15,000 Choristers in 362 choirs competed in 23 musical categories. Interkultur’s website says the goal of the event is to bring “people of all nations, cultures and ideologies together in peaceful competitions and songs.” The next World Choir Games will be held in Riga, Latvia, in 2014.