Chamber Choir Helü was victorious at Lauluragin

The festival Lauluragin (“sound crunch” in English) finished at Valga Culture and Hobby Centre this Sunday after 200 singers from seven different choirs had competed against each other. The festival was held at Valge Culture and Hobby Centre and the main prize was given to Chamber Choir Helü from Tartu. The choir’s competition repertoire consisted of Karel Vähi’s arrangement of the song “Raagus sõnad” by Estonian composer R. Rannap and an arrangement of the evergreen rocksong “Somebody to Love” by Queen. Many spectators believed the choir deserved the main award after performing the Queen song with an energetic and gospel-like feeling.

A citation from local newspaper Valgamaalane:

“The main prize at festival for pop/jazz choirs was given to Helü, who was both jury’s and audience’s favourite choir. Freddy Mercury’s song Somebody to Love with four soloists was so powerful that it gave goosbumps to many listeners.”

Festival  Lauluragin was held already third time this year and the jury comprised of Janiz Ozols from Latvia, Juki Väipakka from Finland and  Sirje Medell from Estonia. The artistic director of the festival is Toomas Voll.