An international choral event to extol the values of solidarity, peace and understanding! Since 1990 thousands of choirs have been joining in the celebration of World Choral Day on or around the 2nd Sunday of December.

Millions of singers across the globe have been involved in World Choral Day concerts, festivals, sing-alongs, choral seminars, days of friendship and other events.

The World Choral Day is an initiative of Alberto Grau from the Latin American Vice-Presidency of the International Federation for Choral Music, proposed and approved by the General Assembly of IFCM held in Helsinki in August, 1990, within the framework of the 2nd World Symposium on Choral Music:

“The world is living through severe and continuous crisis of self destruction. There are no possible reasons that can justify these actions. The majority of the human race wants to live in peace with dignity. It is time to show, with more power and strength, that our choral family contributes, through music to break down the artificial barriers product of politics, different ideologies, religious differences, and racial hatred that separate human beings. We must be able to show that MUSIC, the divine art, is more than the mere search of formal perfection and interpretative beauty, music should serve to extol the values of solidarity, peace, and understanding . We cannot work isolated, we have to make all possible efforts to have our voices heard and to let music work its own paths of communication.”

In the recent years thousands events have taken place in about 50 countries with over 100,000 singers, spreading the proclamation and the importance of World Choral Day to their audiences.

World Choral Day in 2020

Last year, one of IFCM’s most significant projects, World Choral Day, will celebrated its 30th anniversary. In addition to the special commemoration, this year’s edition will be even more distinctive due to the international coronavirus pandemic. Around the world, Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on traditional in-person choral concerts and even singing together in many countries.

We believe that, instead of cancelling another choral project, World Choral Day 2020 provides an extraordinary opportunity for the choral world to demonstrate its unity and solidarity in celebrating the joy of collective singing. Choral ensembles throughout the world are encouraged to join this global initiative to keep alive the 30-year tradition of World Choral Day. Similarly to the last years we dedicate the entire month of December for World Choral Day in 2021.

We are keenly aware of the current worldwide situation and know that, for many, it is challenging to find ways to perform ‘normal’ choral activities due to regulations designed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, we are adding multiple options for joining the 2020 celebration to ensure that everyone can find the right possibility for their ensemble(s), even if opportunities for singing together are limited.

How to join in 2021?

1. Traditional concert. If it is possible to hold traditional concerts in your country, please register your planned event on the website. After your registration has been processed, we will create an event subpage for your concert and contact you directly about uploading content to the page.

2. Virtual concert. If it is not possible to hold traditional concerts in your country, it is still possible to join World Choral Day with a fully- or partially-recorded concert in which the proclamation is read. You might even consider a live broadcast in a modified format, i.e., a performance with no audience, recorded in an empty concert hall or rehearsal space.

3. Virtual choir video. If it is not possible to meet physically and sing together, you can create a virtual choir video in which the World Choral Day logo is added.

4. Video from a previous performance. If options 1, 2, or 3 are not feasible, you can participate in World Choral Day 2021 by sending a recording from a previous performance (from 1 January 2020 onwards). In order to participate with a previously-recorded video, you will need to edit the video and insert the World Choral Day logo.

With each option, please make sure to register your event and/or your plan.

Cantando – the official song for World Choral Day!

Alberto Grau, initiator of the WCD celebrations composed a very joyful songto be sung during all participating concerts. We would like to invite and encourage you to download the sheet music and the mp3 recording of this wonderful piece and sing it together at your choral event.

An international choral event to extol the values of solidarity, peace and understanding! Since 1990 thousands of choirs have been joining in the celebration of World Choral Day on or around the 2nd Sunday of December.

World Choral Day in 2020

How to join in 2021?

Cantando – the official song for World Choral Day!

World Choral Day 2020 Playlist

Upcoming events

Downloads

Media Highlights

Follow Us