Category: School of Music
Joyful noise
November 11, 2025 Written by CAS Communication Staff | Photo credit by Jose Garcia Cintora
UD ensemble takes home the top prize at international choral competition
His choirs have been recognized for excellence across the globe, and Paul D. Head is sought after as a guest director and juror in international competitions, but the highest compliment he ever received didn’t come from an audience member or even a colleague in the world of choral conducting.
“A stage manager once told me that choirs always reflect their directors, and my choir reflected joy,” said Head, director of Choral Studies and Unidel Professor of Music in the University of Delaware’s School of Music.
The combination of joy in music-making and exceptional technical mastery was on display earlier this month at the 56th International Choral Contest of Tolosa, where the Delaware Choral Scholars (DCS), a group of current UD students and choral program alumni, took three first place prizes, in polyphony, folklore and composition in the Basque language, and grand prize for the top overall score.
“What I’ve always said about Delaware is we attract bright, curious, motivated students,” Head said. “It starts when prospective students visit campus and meet our current students. We’re welcoming and wonderful, but if you don’t want to work hard, you probably won’t be happy here.”
DCS members are selected through a blind audition process, with choral professionals outside of UD ranking audition tapes.
“Even learning the audition is a heavy lift,” he said. “But when we walk into rehearsal, everyone knows that every person there did the work to be in that room.”
The Grand Prix
The Tolosa competition is part of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (EGP), a group of six competitions in Bulgaria, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia and the Basque region of Spain that seek to present the top choral ensembles in the world.
Their win in Tolosa qualifies DCS to compete in next year’s EGP Finale in Maribor, Slovenia, on April 18, 2026. Only a handful of American choirs have made it to the EGP Finale, and only three have ever won in the competition’s 36-year history.
“It’s exciting,” Head said. “There are a lot of great university choirs in the United States, but there is something special about Delaware.”
Participation in choral competitions is often invitation-only, which means that an ensemble’s reputation precedes it. Head has spent more than 25 years building UD’s choral ensembles to have a stellar international reputation.
“We’re a household name now,” he said. “I introduce myself to colleagues anywhere in the world and they say, ‘oh, right … Delaware.’”
Delaware vocal ensembles have previously garnered awards at competitions in Hungary, Germany, Estonia and Wales, and they have had engagements with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Abu Ghosh Festival, Victoria Music Festival and JAM on the Marsh Festival.
In 2024, DCS received four gold medals and three division wins at the World Choir Games in New Zealand, an accomplishment that earned them the number one spot on the Interkultur World Choir Rankings and led to the invitation to Tolosa.
Perfect blend
The journey has also come with its share of challenges. UD choral ensembles are open to students of any major across the University, which can make scheduling difficult, as not everyone can commit to a competition that is more than a year in the future, or give up an internship or summer job to travel for weeks at a time.
The cost of travel is prohibitive for some students, though the program is grateful for support from the University and private donors.
Finally, most singers do not reach full vocal maturity until age 25-35. UD choral singers are predominantly undergraduate students in their late teens and early 20s.
A few years ago, Head embraced the concept of “always a Blue Hen” and began inviting alumni of the choral program to join current students, bringing Delaware Choral Scholars to life.
“The amalgamation is key,” Head said. “The younger singers bring energy and optimism to the group, and the alumni raise the bar because they have the vocal maturity.”
Adding the sense of pride and community that come from being a Blue Hen gives DCS its heart.
“A choir can sing impeccably and be … boring,” Head said. “We’re here to serve the human condition, to feel and to be all the things that make us have heart and have joy.”
