The Antioch Chamber Ensemble, currently celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season, won first place honors in both Sacred Music and Secular Music categories at The Tolosa International Choral Competition in Tolosa, Spain on November 1. The twelve-member professional vocal group was invited to represent the United States in the prestigious annual choral festival, and competed against 18 choirs from nations including Hungary, South Africa, Cuba, Israel, Russia and Finland. One of only a few international competitions that award prizes to professional ensembles, the Tolosa Competition aims to bring together the best choirs in the world, in order to facilitate an exchange of styles, interpretation, choral literature, vocal education and customs from a variety of countries, as well as to raise awareness of the musical and cultural tradition of the Basque Country. “I'm extraordinarily proud and tremendously honored by this achievement,” says the group's Artistic Director, Joshua Copeland, a resident of Mendham and vocal music teacher in the Bedminster School District. “It's been ten years in the making. Most of our dedicated singers have been with us since 1997, and it's a wonderful validation of their hard work and talent to receive these two awards. It is also a great honor to receive this recognition as an American Choir.”

Antioch gave its debut performance at the Gala opening of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 1997, and has since garnered a reputation as one of the country's foremost vocal ensembles, performing for The Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series, the Trinity Church “Noon-Day” Concert Series in New York, the American Choral Directors' Association (ACDA) Eastern National Conference in New York, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Nautilus Music Festival in Nova Scotia. Formerly the vocal ensemble-in-residence at Trinity Church, Wall Street, Antioch is currently in residence in New Jersey. The debut of the ensemble's Community Concerts series at Calvary Church in Summit was met with acclaim by The Classical New Jersey Society Journal, which raved, “The intonation was pure, the blend exquisite, the voices ethereal in the church's sympathetic acoustics.” Antioch's second full-length recording is currently in production, and will be released on the MSR Classics Label later this year.

The exceptional musicians who compose Antioch are music educators and singers from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia who have performed with ensembles such as the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, The Clarion Music Society, Vox Vocal Ensemble, Cantori New York, Philadelphia's Bridge Ensemble, and the world-renowned Westminster Choir. The ensemble's mission is to create a performing ensemble that enhances the cultural life of the community and the wider region by making choral chamber music of all styles and genres accessible to a diverse audience, especially young people and those less fortunate, and that fosters an appreciation for the art of choral chamber music through the most expressive and stylistically accurate performances available. More information is available at the group's website, www.AntiochOnline.com.

Editor's note: This article is sourced from an Antioch Chamber Ensemble press release dated November 5, 2008.