A French NGO for promoting choral music at its best
Polyfollia International is a NGO founded by a team of choral activists who, since 30 years, is working for a unique aim: promoting internationally the best of choral singing and its associated values.
Up to 2014, they used to achieve it in organizing various international events and festivals, notably the Polyfollia Festival: a World Showcase & Marketplace for the best and upcoming international vocal ensembles, and an international meeting point for hundreds of professionals, amateur choirs and choral lovers.
Today, with Polyfollia International they offer their advice, their assistance, their net and their expertise to exemplarychoralprojects throughout the world, accompanying them on the field, and working aside them to help them to reach their own aims at an international standard.
The team
Jacques Vanherle, President & Musical Director, acquired his passion for choral music at 13 in a boys’ choir. He developed his international experience as a choir manager some years later in a University Choir, organizing tours of concerts abroad and building an international choral net, while running a career of classics teacher (French literature, Latin and Greek). Since then, he has unceasingly dedicated his life to showcase choral singing sharing his time between vocal education, musical organisation and artistic direction of festivals or choral institutions. Founder and director of the Centre of Polyphonic Art of Normandy, of various choirs and festivals – notably the Polyfollia Festival - he has also greatly contributed to the international choral life (International Federation for Choral Music, Institut Français d’Art Choral, etc).
Anne-Marie Cretté, Treasurer & Musical Advisor, is a very active choir conductor while running a versatile career of Music teacher and pedagogue. She is currently associate professor of the “Ecole Supérieure du Professorat et de l’Éducation” of the University of Caen (Normandy). She is especially focused on interactive musical pedagogy to teachers, referring notably to Kodaly method and various choral repertoires.
Sylvain Chapellière, Secretary, caught the virus of choral singing at the university. From then, he has dedicated his life as a volunteer to develop choral projects, while running a career of social worker for substantially handicapped persons. He is the reference person for logistics and technical organization.
