European Choir Games: Crosby Merchant Taylors' School wins gold
- Published
Amabile, centre, won a gold and a silver medal in the games
A girls' school choir from Merseyside has won a gold medal in the European Choir Games in Sweden.
Amabile, of Merchant Taylors' Girls' School in Crosby, Merseyside, won the award in the Open Competition in the event in Norrkoping.
The event is billed as the "Olympic games of choral music".
The girls also won a silver medal in the European Champions Competion, with the school's head teacher praising the "fantastic achievement".
Bridget Ward also hailed the girls' "enormous amount of hard work".
More than 60 choirs representing 25 countries took part in the 5th European Choir Games between 28 October and 5 November in the city, which is home to the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra.
The girls were all praised for their "fantastic achievement"
Amabile qualified for the Games after winning the Girls' Schools Association Choir of the Year in Warwick earlier this year.
The trip included a workshop with internationally-acclaimed choral director Michael Joseph Barrett, who guided the girls through a series of warm-up challenges and taught them a new song and style of singing - in the form of a traditional piece from South Africa.
Amabile also performed alongside choirs from Greece and Sweden.
The independent Merchant Taylors' School, founded in 1620, said the achievements "demonstrated the essence of the event fostering connections with renowned choirs from different countries, exchanging ideas and learning from one another".
Ms Ward said the school was "incredibly proud" of the girls and the music staff for the "enormous amount of work and preparation they have put in to reach international standard".
She added: "The girls have rehearsed regularly and even changed some of their lifestyle habits in order to protect and preserve their outstanding voices, while also maintaining their academic studies and other school commitments."
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