UL Lafayette's Top Choir Wins International Choral Competition

Director of Choral Activities Dr. William Plummer received word the day after UL Lafayette Choirs' Fall Concert had concluded that his performance video submission of the Chamber Singers to the International Choral Festival Wales Choir Competition had earned the ensemble a place in the finals along with six other choirs' recordings from around the world. Recorded during the pandemic when the ensemble was rehearsing outdoors as a safety precaution, the prizewinning video of the piece "Hard Times Come Again No More" can be viewed on the Choirs YouTube Channel. When the adjudication by an international panel of judges concluded and scores were announced on October 31st 2021, the Chamber Singers had scored 92.5 out of 100 marks, earning them not only the Gold Award, but also the highest score attained in the competition.

The three choirs at UL Lafayette had prepared diligently for their Fall Concert this semester since the beginning of the term. This was the first concert which these ensembles had performed face-to-face on stage in nearly two years due to the global pandemic and worldwide choir shutdown. We used this opportunity to invite the composers of some of the works on the concert program into our classroom via Zoom to listen to the choirs and make valuable and insightful comments. The Fall Concert, entitled "Journeys" can be viewed in its entirety as a livestream on the Choirs Facebook page: View Concert Now

UL Lafayette Chamber Singers work with internationally-known composer Richard Burchard on his piece "When David Heard" via Zoom