We were very proud and delighted to return home yesterday with a prestigious second-place award from the Cornwall International Male Choral Festival (CIMCF) — the largest international male choral festival in the world — after a triumphant weekend of competition and performance across Cornwall from 1–3 May 2025.

The choir secured the runners-up position in a highly competitive category of ten choirs, with the competition taking place in the magnificent setting of Truro Cathedral. Over the weekend, the choir also gave public performances in Bodmin, Porthleven and Falmouth — including an unforgettable concert inside the keep of the historic Pendennis Castle.

A Diverse and Demanding Repertoire
The choir’s four competition pieces showcased remarkable breadth and musical accomplishment:

• “Pueri Hebraeorum” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina — a challenging polyphonic Renaissance work.
• “The Willow Tree” — a traditional Hampshire folk song specially arranged for the choir by local musician Simon Hancock, in loving memory of long-term choir member Brian Carter.
• “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” — the beloved male voice choir standard by Jerome Kern.
• “Soon Ah Will Be Done” — a deeply moving African American spiritual in an arrangement by William Dawson, the pioneering musician who became the first African American to receive a Doctor of Music degree.

“
We are absolutely thrilled with the award which is testament to the hard work put in by every choir member to reach this standard, our talented Music Director, Philip Viveash-Brainch, and accompanist Charlotte Hobbs.”
— Mark Kusionowicz, Chairman, Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir