The World Youth Choir is one of the most original and important choirs that exists nowadays. Made of young singers between the ages of 17 and 26 from different nationalities, the World Youth Choir (WYC) is original in its concept, bringing together talented young singers from all over the world, to its summer or winter sessions organized in different world countries, each year. The World Youth Choir is a remarkable educational and social experience through different vocal traditions at the highest artistic level.
Organized for 20 years by the International Center for Choral Music (ICCM), now managed by the Foundation (Stichting) World Youth Choir, founded by three patron organizations, with its principal office at World Forum in The Hague, Churchillplein 10, 2517 JW Den Haag, The Netherland, the World Youth Choir is a really original social and artistic project.
Artistically speaking, it is a unique experience for young singers to develop their musical and vocal talents by interacting with internationally recognized conductors and challenging repertoires in a professional level.
Socially speaking, the World Youth Choir contributes to the raising of new generations of “Citizens of the World”. Besides this, many countries represented by the singers in the choir and by the music in the repertoire, do emphasize the World Youth Choir as a school of understanding between different cultures, people, music and traditions. Beyond the artistic project, which in itself is a major achievement, the World Youth Choir represents a unique experience in personal relationships for its members.
Regardless of political or cultural differences, more or less 100 young people, with a common passion for music and a love for singing, share one month of life together, thereby allowing work, play conversation and debate. This community life creates a genuine spirit of friendship, conferring to the group this cohesion and this unique brightness which amazes those who attend WYC concerts. Without any speeches or banners, the World Youth Choir provides its message of music, and by its presence, its message of international peace, brotherhood, and the vitality of life itself. This is the reason why UNESCO has named this project Artists for peace, as a way to recognize its double mission, social and artistic.
Each summer the World Youth Choir, comprised of half new, half re-invited singers, meets in a different country of the world for two weeks of intensive rehearsals of a new repertoire with two different conductors with contrasting programs followed by a two weeks tour through the hosting country and neighboring countries presenting their music in major concert halls and prestigious cultural centers. During the Tour, the choir intends to enhance its social and pedagogical mission by interacting with local schools, choirs and population in general in order to share THE WORLD with them through master classes, workshops and clinics.
The World Youth Choir is patronized by the International Federation for Choral Music, IFCM (www.ifcm.net), Jeunesses Musicales International, JMI (www.jmi.net) and European Choral Association - Europa Cantat, ECA-EC (www.eca-ec.org). The World Youth Choir is part of the project CREATE (Choral Repertoire, Education and Training in Europe) the sustainable promotion of the development of choral singing in Europe.