Presentation del Cor Vivaldi

- "A school choir? But how can a school choir sing like that? And you say they travel? How do they manage to fit in tours lasting a week or ten days during the academic year?"

The fact that the COR VIVALDI is a school choir is probably one of its most defining characteristics, as well as being the one which generates most enquiries; we should not forget that the standard of music in our schools is unfortunately not as high as in the rest of Europe. Spain (and Catalunya too) was shut off from the European musical tradition for many years and although things are undeniably changing now, we all know how difficult it is to fill the places in an orchestra with musicians from this country.

Schools have an important part to play here and should be the source of the musicians of the future. Schools can produce great music, and the COR VIVALDI is a fine example of this: a school choir which has constantly shown during its ten-year existence that schools are not only places for studying Language, Science and Maths but that good music can be made there too, to the same high standard as in other countries with a solid musical tradition.
This is not all. As well as being a source of pride for the whole school, and especially for its management, the high quality of the Choir's music is the result of the unreserved and generous work of thirty three boys and girls aged from ten to sixteen and its conductor. Members attend four hour-long lunchtime rehearsals a week as well as a further hour's session in small groups to study vocal technique, and then there are the concerts, tours and recordings that come up throughout the year. No matter how much enthusiasm the singers and conductor themselves contributed to the project, it would be impossible without the help and co-operation of the parents, who often have to tailor their free time and even adapt their home lives to fit in with the Choir's commitments. Last but not least, the Choir's success is also a reflection of the ceaseless work put in by its manager, whose efforts should also be taken into account; it has not been at all easy to convince promoters and the media of the 'product's' quality: ("...and you say it´s a school children's choir?") Until winning second prize at the 1995 Cantonigròs International Music Festival the Cor Vivaldi's activities were limited to performances directly related to the school, with a few exceptions such as their performance in 1990 of Giancarlo Menutti's 'Chip and his Dog'; the first performance of this work in Spain and extraordinarily well-received by the media. Since 1995, however, the Choir has changed direction and has performed not only in Catalunya and Spain but in several European countries and America (Argentina, USA) consistently receiving good reviews and favourable audience reactions as well as winning international prizes at prestigious European competitions. Projects for the 98-'99 school year include taking part in the European Grand Prize for Choral Singing, which is held in Varna (Bulgaria) and is reserved for choirs that have won the Grand Prize at any of the six most important competitions in Europe.