Menlo Park, CA - FeelitLIVE, Inc., the creators of the FeelitLIVE virtual and hybrid digital entertainment platform, has announced America’s Top ChoirsTM - the largest and most inclusive online high school choral competition in America. Now in its second season, America's Top Choirs™ celebrates high school choirs that generate beautiful music every day and are the embodiment of teamwork, resilience, talent, diversity, hope, and positivity.
High school choirs from the country are invited to upload a song performance recorded during the 2021-2022 academic year. The Registration fee is $100, and schools entering multiple choirs will be charged only $50 per entry after the first one. Submissions must be received on or before Friday, September 9, 2022.
A panel of leading choral experts will evaluate the entries and shortlist the Top 10 choirs that will take part in America's Top Choirs™ Virtual Grand Finale event on Sunday, September 25, 2022, at 8 pm EDT / 5 pm PDT, when winners will be revealed.
The Grand Prize Winner will be chosen and announced at the Grand Finale based on both the judges' scores and the audience votes, at which time the four Category Winners based on the judges' evaluation will also be announced.
Prizes and Give-Aways
Grand Prize Winner
The high school entry with the highest score will be named America’s Top Choirs™ 2022 winner and will receive:
- A $2,500 cash prize
- An opportunity to claim their Xperience Hub (a branded digital home for their Choir) on FeelitLIVE - worth $350 per year
- Host a live or on-demand event using the Pro Plan (>$500 in value) features for FREE on FeelitLIVE
Category Winners
The categories below will also be selected from all the entries received.
The winner in each category below will be awarded a $500 cash prize and the opportunity to claim their Xperience Hub on FeelitLIVE - worth $350 per year as well as host a live or on-demand event using the Pro Plan (>$500 in value) features for FREE on FeelitLIVE
- Best creative visuals
- Best choreography
- Outstanding live performance
- Best audio/video engineering
All contestants
All choirs taking part in the competition will be entitled to:
- Host a live or on-demand event using the Pro Plan (>$500 in value) features for FREE on FeelitLIVE
To learn more and join the competition visit: https://feelit.live/Americas-Top-Choirs
The Judges
- Dr. Charlene Archibeque, one of America’s foremost choral conductors and teachers, is the first woman to earn the DMA in Choral Conducting in 1969 from the University of Colorado. Her over six decades in choral conducting are replete with International and domestic recognitions and accolades. She spent 35 years as Director of Choral Activities at San Jose State University.
- Dr. Jeffrey Benson, Director of Choral Activities at San José State University. He is a published composer and arranger with Colla Voce Music and Santa Barbara Music Publishing, under the Charlene Archibeque Choral Series. He has served as cover conductor for the Grammy award-winning Washington Chorus. Choirs under his direction have performed with the Rolling Stones, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, and Sarah Brightman.
- Dr. Jeffery Redding, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He is the 2019 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Recipient. He has led his choirs in performances at national, regional, and state conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He has been featured as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, and Orchestra Hall on numerous occasions, and around the world. He is also one of Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional conductors at Epcot.
- Dr. Corie Brown, Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at San José State University. She leads the SJSU Concert and Treble Choirs and brings diverse teaching experience in public and community settings. As a mezzo-soprano, Dr. Brown has appeared with the Ad Astra Music Festival and Oregon Bach Festival Choirs, as well as the award-winning University of Oregon Chamber Choir, University of Colorado Boulder University Singers, and the prestigious Chicago Chorale. She has sung under Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, Sharon Paul, and Andrea Ramsey, amongst others, and has toured internationally throughout Argentina, Colombia, and Europe.
About FeelitLIVE (www.feelitlive.com)
FeelitLIVE is the world’s first all-in-one digital entertainment platform built for choirs, bands, musicians, and the performing arts. We empower performers, producers, and creators to unleash the potential and value of their live performances, host world-class events, engage audiences, monetize their content, and build lasting relationships with their communities.
Built by MIT alums, FeelitLIVE is fast becoming home to choirs across North America. From enabling live streaming, hybrid, and virtual events that wow audiences, to monetization tools such as tickets, donations, sponsors, auctions, and engagement features like live chat, video drop-ins, and live audience interactions, FeelitLIVE provides every choir the platform to deliver the beautiful and uplifting experiences they have always imagined. The company is also the creator of the rapidly growing Top Choirs™ franchise that has found great success in the U.S. and Canada. FeelitLIVE is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA, with passionate and talented team members on four continents.