MaleVox triumph at Lichfield Festival.
A male voice choir from Birmingham has emerged victorious in the 2024 Midlands Choir of the Year competition organised by Lichfield Festival. MaleVox saw off five rivals in the Final at Lichfield Cathedral on 7th July, lifting the competition trophy and taking home a cash prize of £1,000.
Staffordshire Show Choir (Staffordshire) and Inspire Choir (Lichfield) were joint winners of the Audience Award, sharing a £500 prize.
As part of their prize, MaleVox will also be invited to sing at the 2025 Lichfield Festival.
The a cappella group, which rehearses in Birmingham city centre, impressed the judging panel with their performance of Gershwin’s I Was Doing Alright, Old Friends by Sylvie Lewis and Charles Randy Wooten, and That Ever I Saw by Darmon Meader. The six finalists were Chanteuse Chamber Choir (Stafford), The Derwent Singers (Derby), Inspire Choir (Lichfield), MaleVox (Birmingham), Staffordshire Show Choir (Staffordshire) and VocaBella (Shropshire).
David Roper, MaleVox said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have won the Midlands Choir of the Year. We genuinely felt the judges’ prize could have gone to any of the choirs taking to the stage on Sunday; the standard was incredibly high. We loved being able to see such an excellent and diverse selection of choirs perform and it was joy to take part.”
Eleven choirs made the semi-final rounds of the competition which was open to amateur, adult singing groups of all types and musical genres from across the Midlands region. The competition will return to the Lichfield Festival in 2026. The Festival is grateful to Lichfield District Council and Major Festival Partners, McArthurGlen West Midlands, for supporting the community and the Midlands Choir of the Year competition.
Lichfield Festival continues to 14thJuly. Details at lichfieldfestival.org .