Amabile wins top prize at international choir competition in Greece

Merchant Taylors’ choir, Amabile, has won the Kalamata Choir Prize 2026, taking the top award at the 6th Kalamata International Choir Competition & Festival in Greece.

Conducted by Ms Gervasoni, the choir also secured first place in the Sacred Choral Music a cappella category, celebrating a double success on the international stage.

Representing Great Britain, Amabile joined a festival welcoming more than 1,000 singers from 38 choirs across 16 nations. The event brought together choirs of different ages and musical traditions from around the world, making this a particularly impressive achievement for our pupils.

The Kalamata Choir Prize is awarded following a Grand Prize competition, featuring category winners and other choirs selected by the international jury. For this final round, choirs must perform two a cappella pieces, singing without instrumental accompaniment, which they have not performed in their earlier competition programmes.

Behind Amabile’s success are months of dedicated preparation. The singers gave up time during the summer holidays to rehearse, working together to master demanding music and refine their performances under Ms Gervasoni’s guidance.

Alongside their winning sacred music programme, the choir also performed in the Folklore category, sharing their northern heritage through music and traditional dress.

The result builds on Amabile’s previous gold medal success at the European Choir Games in Sweden and gives the singers another international achievement to celebrate.

Everyone at Merchant Taylors’ is immensely proud of Amabile, Congratulations to the whole choir, and thank you to the staff and families whose support helped make this memorable experience possible.