Vocalists at American University of Sharjah (AUS) won the "Most Promising Talent" at the Short + Sweet Voices 2017 held recently at The Junction at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai. The AUS Choir, which sang four songs in four different languages -- Swahili, French, German, and English -was also nominated for the "Best Choir" award. Short+Sweet Voices stretches the boundaries of choral performance and rewards innovation, excellence and creativity with prizes and awards for groups in vocal arrangement and presentation.

Angelina Lynne, Visiting Instructor in the AUS Performing Arts Program and conductor of the AUS Choir, said, "I am extremely proud of the hard work each of these students put into learning their pieces for their first competition. This work included learning new languages and rhythms, creating movements, playing percussive instruments and memorizing all their music in just under three weeks. It's not every day that we have the opportunity to compete as a choir in this region and the students proved that they were up to the challenge. Their enthusiasm and positive energy encouraged many other performers at the event as well."

According to Mariyam Mahmud, a chemical engineering senior and member of the choir, "It was an eye-opening experience to see so many artists of all ages and cultures come together on one stage and perform. It really was a representation of the power music has in bringing the world together and unifying it. As a member of the AUS Choir I am extremely grateful for the work Professor Angelina put in to help get our team to this competition and even though we faced obstacles along the way, her faith in our capability and talent is what helped us get to the finals and win 'Most Promising Talent.'"

The AUS Performing Arts Program is one of the few programs of its kind available in the region. It offers students opportunities to study the exciting fields of music and theatre and to showcase their talent by performing in concerts and theatrical productions. Courses in theatre and music provide students with opportunities to supplement any course of study at AUS and also gain valuable hands-on experience by participating in the technical and backstage components of music and theatre productions.

Short+Sweet is a global festival brand, presenting highly successful theatre, dance, cabaret and song festivals around the world, in order to build theatre-going audiences globally. Short+Sweet Voices was added into the Short+Sweet world in 2015 and welcomes vocal performers, choirs and conductors to showcase their musical prowess in the 10-minute format.