Choral Arts of Seattle wins The American Prize

Seattle’s Choral Arts, directed by Robert Bode, has won the 2010 American Prize in Choral Performance and Choral Conducting (community division). And Seattle Pro Musica, directed by Karen P. Thomas, tied for second place in the same category.

The American Prize, created last year and awarded for the first time this year, is judged through recorded performances. Choral Arts’ winning entry was their recent “Mornings Like This” CD. Seattle Pro Musica submitted a compilation of recent concert recordings that included excerpts from Frank Martin’s “Mass for Double Choir” (a studio recording of which can be found on SPM’s “Music of the Spirit”) and a movement from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” (studio version on “Peace in Our Time”).