PLANS FOR WCLV-ST. JOHN CATHEDRAL JUBILATION ANNOUNCED FOR 2010

WCLV and the Cathedral of St. John Evangelist in downtown Cleveland will cooperate in the third annual regional church choir festival culminating in the final rounds at the Cathedral on May 20 and 21, 2010.

Three distinguished judges, former Cleveland Orchestra Chorus conductor, Robert Page; former  Mormon Tabernacle Choir Conductor, Jerold Ottley; and Director of Choral Activities at Ohio University, Peter Jarjisian, will adjudicate. The final sessions will be broadcast live by WCLV.

WCLV President Robert Conrad said; "The mission of this Festival is to remind Northeast Ohio of the beautiful and time-honored tradition of choral music in our houses of worship and to further heighten the standard of music in the 21st century."

The goal is to acknowledge excellence in choral singing and diversity in styles. The repertoire will include not only western classical music but also the tradition of gospel and other genres. Last year’s Festival brought the house down at St. John’s with some seamless vocal lines from the winning choir of Westlake United Methodist Church, Andy Call, Director.

Choirs will be judged on their technical ability, their musicality and their work as an ensemble. First prize will be $1,000 and trophy. The five runners-up will also receive cash awards and plaques. Invitations, with a full list of rules are being mailed out to choirs in September 2009. The preliminary rounds will be based on recorded submissions, and the deadline for receipt is March 1, 2010. Entries on tape or CD should be sent to WCLV, 26501 Renaissance Parkway, Cleveland, Ohio 44128.

This year, WCLV has arranged for a recording engineer, at a modest fee,  to help church choirs prepare their CD for the preliminary round. For further information, call the WWCLV Jubilation line at 216 464 0900 Ext 253.  

After preliminary judging, six (6) choirs will be chosen to go on to the final rounds. Notification will be made to those choirs chosen by April 1, 2010. The six choirs will be asked to prepare a twenty minute program each, which will then be adjudicated by the panel of judges. The live WCLV broadcast live on WCLV before an audience from the Cathedral on May 20th and 21st at 8:00 PM, will be Lloyd Newell, the voice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasts.

Jubilation rules and entry form here.