Shallaway Youth Choir nets gold, silver and bronze at world competition

The Shallaway Youth Choir wrapped up 10 performances in the past six days with three major wins at the SeghizziInternational Choral Singing Competition in Italy on Sunday.

The St. John's-basedchoir won gold in the gospel category, silver in contemporary and bronze overall and they weren't just competing against other kids, said Kellie Walsh,the choir's artistic director.

They beat choirs of adults, kids and university students to bring home all that hardware, she said, and they were the first choir from the province to make it to the final round, the Grand Prix.

"There's no other feeling, the kids were so delighted. In actual fact when they finished they said, 'We don't really care what happens because we could not have performed any better.'"

The teams came from countries from all over the world, Walsh said, including Ukraine, Indonesia andJapan.

Meeting the singers from so many placesmade the competition an extra-special experience for the Shallaway singers.

"One of the most beautiful moments is when they had a party and they were all sitting down in circles with Google Translate, teaching each other songs from other countries," Walsh said."It was just spectacular."

The choir has a few much-neededdays off before their next big gig: a show at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Success isn't unfamiliar for Shallaway

It's not unusual for the choir to punch above its weight. Formed 26 years ago as a cultural response to the cod moratorium, the choir's main focus is to teach leadership skills while exposing its choristers to people and cultures around the globe.

In 2015, it wasrecognized as theChildren's Choir of the Worldat the 2015LlangollenInternational Musical Eisteddfod, a music festivalin Wales.

They practise only once a week, but Walsh says they learn to give it their all in the time they have.

"They learn that the sky's the limit when you work really hard, when you dedicate yourself," she said.

And successes like the trio of wins in Italy on the weekend show them what they're capable of when they do that work, she added.

"Really, anything that you want to do in this world is possible when you work together and when you work really hard."

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