JOIN the JCA Youth Choir 2026 Session!!
Japan Choral Association (JCA) is looking for singers from the Asia-Pacific region, who will join “The 15th JCA Youth Choir”: a four-day rehearsal & final concert. The program will be held in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan in March 2026. For the 2026 session, we are open to singers from the Asia-Pasific region to widen multicultural communication.
■About “The JCA Youth Choir”
The JCA Youth
Choir is a 5 days choral program for talented young singers aged 16
to 28. We started the program in 2012 with the aim of
nurturing the next generation of choral singers and leaders.
Every year, the choir is performing under the internationally
acclaimed conductors. In the 2026 session, Avip Priatna (Batavia
Madrigal Singers, The Resonanz Children's Choir) will teach and
conduct the choir. The choir will consist of 44 singers: 40 singers
from Japan and 4 singers from the Asia-Pacific region.
■Outline of the event
【Dates】 Rehearsals: Tuesday,
March 24, 2026 - Friday, March 27, 2026
Concert: Saturday, March 28, 2026
【Venues】
Kurashiki-shi Geibunkan
(1-18-1
Chuo,
Kurashiki
City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan)
Rehearsals:
I-Theater
Concert: Hall
【Conductor】 Avip Priatna
(Indonesia)
【Organizers】 Japan Choral Association, The Asahi
Shimbun (newspaper company)
●Conductor: Avip Priatna
●Kurashiki City
©Kurashiki City Tourism Council
©Kurashiki City Tourism Council
■Concert Program
O Sapientia (Tadeja Vulc)
Factum
est silentium (Richard Deering)
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe (Felix
Mendelssohn)
O Magnum Mysterium (Kevin A. Memley)
Stabat Mater (József
Karai)
Ave Maria (Ivan Yohan)
Wade in the Water (Traditional
Spiritual, arr. Allen Koepke)
Superstition (Stevie Wonder, arr. Paul
Langford)
When I Fall in Love (Victor Young, arr. Kirby Shaw)
Ametsetan (Javier Busto)
Ise Kiyari (Toyotaka Tsuchida)
Fajar dan Senja II (Ken Steven)
Application Guidelines
| 【Recruitment numbers】 | ●Singers from the Asia-Pacific region Soprano 1, Alto 1, Tenor1, Bass1 (tentative) ●Singers from Japan Soprano 7、Alto 7、Tenor 7、Bass 7 *In addition to the above, 3 members per each part will participate from the participants of the 14th session. |
| 【requirements to participate】 | 1. Applicants must be between 16 and 28 years old, on
April 1, 2025. 2. Events will be conducted in English, so a good working knowledge of the language is required. 3. Singers who are passionate and eager to learn in a multicultural environment are desirable. |
| 【Application Materials】 | （１） Two mp3 audition files |
| 《Prepared score》 One obligatory choral excerpt from “Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe” by F. Mendelssohn. Soprano: Sing Chor I. From auftakt on bar 14 to second beat of bar 32. Alto: Sing Chor II. From auftakt on bar 14 to second beat of bar 32 Tenor: Sing Chor I. From auftakt on bar 13 to second beat of bar 32 Bass: Sing Chor II. From auftakt on bar 13 to second beat of bar 32 *Sing in a capella. Also, piano accompaniment playing parts of other than the part sung by the applicant is acceptable. *Download a score at the following link. Choral Public Domain Library 《Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe》 |
|
| 《Range test》 One scale sung forte and a cappella on an open vowel: “a” or “o”, presenting the entire voice-range. It can be a simple major scale, starting from middle note, and move up to the highest note and then move down to the lowest note. (M.M.: 85-95, not exceeding 1'20" in total) |
|
| （２） CV ※You can download the CV template. Word / PDF |
|
| （３） Photo A photo that can be used to introduce you in our social media and website in case you are selected as a singer of the session |
|
| 【How to apply】 | Send the two audition files, the CV and the photo by e-mail or by
submitting to the from. E-mail: youthchoir@jcanet.or.jp Google form: here |
| 【Deadline to apply】 | 29 August 2025 |
| 【Expenses for participation】 |
Participants are responsible for their own expenditure on: a. Travel from home country to the venue in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture (560 kilometers west of Tokyo), and back home again. b. Accomodation and meals during whole your stay. c. The price of scores. d. Visas and other official requirements. e. Pocket money |
| 【Others】 | Qualifications will be done by the
JCA committee based on the submitted CV and audio
recordings. Qualification judgment will be done in
September 2025, and the result will be announced to each applicant by e-mail. |
Contact
Japan Choral Association
c/o The Asahi Shimbun 5-3-2 Tukiji,
Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Postal Code 104-8011
TEL +81-3-5540-7813
FAX +81-3-3544-1964
E-mail: youthchoir@jcanet.or.jp