Florilège Vocal de Tours

ℹ️ Festival definitively discontinued since 2023. The Florilège Vocal de Tours association announced in April 2023 that it was no longer possible for them to organize new editions. The 50th and last edition held took place in June 2022. The 2023 edition, scheduled for May 5-7, was canceled, and no edition has taken place in 2024, 2025, nor is announced for 2026.

The only international choral singing competition in France

Since its creation in 1972, the Florilège Vocal de Tours had established itself as the only international choral singing competition organized in France. For fifty years, this exceptional event welcomed choirs from all over the world for a high-level competition before a jury composed of international choral music professionals.

A prestigious competition

The Florilège Vocal was distinguished by the demanding nature of its competition, organized in several stages:

• Compulsory program: choirs performed works selected by the jury
• Free program: each ensemble proposed a repertoire of its choice
• Grand Prix de la Ville de Tours: the highest distinction awarded to the best choir

Choirs from all over the world

Over the years, the competition welcomed more than 500 choirs from 58 countries, including small ensembles and large formations, with mixed or equal voices. The latest editions saw choirs from the Philippines, the United States, Italy, France, Ukraine, and Spain participate, testifying to the international reach of the event.

A musical setting in Tours

The competition took place in emblematic venues of the city of Tours:

• L'Opéra de Tours (Grand Théâtre): main venue for the competition
• L'Église Saint-Julien: opening concert in this Romanesque church in the center of Tours

International recognition

The Florilège Vocal de Tours benefited from major international recognition:

• Member of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
• Labeled EFFE (Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe) as a Remarkable Festival
• Member of the Choral Festival Network

50 years of choral history and the end of an adventure

In 2022, the Florilège Vocal celebrated its 50th edition, marking half a century of excellence in promoting choral singing on an international scale. The following edition, scheduled for May 5-7, 2023, was canceled following successive reductions in public subsidies. The City of Tours had proposed organizing the competition every two years, a proposal that the association refused.

In April 2023, the board of directors announced that it was no longer possible to continue organizing the Florilège Vocal. The official website florilegevocal.com is no longer maintained and now redirects to an unrelated site. If a new adventure were to one day take up the torch of international choral singing in Tours, it would be within a different institutional framework.