What is it about?: IFCM is an organization of choral musicians throughout the globe.
When was it founded?: IFCM was founded in 1982 by national and international choral organizations from Europe, France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, Scandinavia and the American Choral Directors Association.
What is its mission?: IFCM is a non-profit organization which aims to foster cooperation and unity among choral musicians through various activities such as festivals and competitions. It also aims to promote choral music in our schools and globally so that it reaches more people. You can read IFCM's mission statement here.
What activities do they have?: IFCM offers the following activities and festivals:
World Youth Choir - Also sponsored by the Jeunesses Musicales International and Europa Cantat. The World Youth Choir is composed of 85 choral singers from over 35 different countries. The singers are between the ages of 17 to 26 who spends a month together; rehearsing, touring and performing a major choral work and an a cappella program.
World Chamber Choir - Composed of 30 singers from 20 different countries previously performing on the World Youth Choir. The performers are between the ages of 24 to 35; they are invited to perform at different venues all over the world.
World Symposium on Choral Music - Organized every three years, the World Symposium on Choral Music is a one-week event held at a host country. Choirs and choir leaders meet together to perform, hold workshops, etc.
Aside from those listed above, they also have other endeavors such as Songbridge, which was developed by Erkki Pohjola. Songbridge brings together 4 youth choirs from different parts of the world to showcase works from their country. They also have the International Day of Choral Singing founded by Alberto Grau, America Cantat, International Children's Choir festival, ArtChild and many others.
Activities to Watch Out for: They have an activity calendar for 2009 here.
More Information: You can learn more about IFCM by going to their Web site.
