On Saturday 26 September, Sansara were named winners of the 2015 London International A Cappella Competition. The competition was hosted at St John's Smith Square, in association with the Tallis Scholars, whose director Peter Phillips chaired a jury that included conductors Mark Williams and Lionel Meunier, vocal expert Ghislaine Morgan and composer Gabriel Jackson.

After a vocal workshop and lunchtime recital on Friday 25 September, Sansara initially competed in the second heat, alongside The Blossom Street Singers, The Gesualdo Six and Ardú. The choir performed Mauersberger's Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst, Gabriel Jackson's Peace, my heart and Gombert's Lugebat David Absalon, drawing praise from the judges for their inventive programming and dynamic performance style.

The final was the following day, and featured The Epiphoni Consort and The Gesualdo Six alongside Sansara. The choir presented a varied programme of Byrd's Laudibus in sanctis, Jackson's Our flags are wafting in hope and grief and the traditional Norwegian song Gjendines bådnlåt, before ending with Howells' Take him , earth, for cherishing. The choir once again drew praise for its coherent, narrative programming, and their ability for creating varied moods in the room, from stillness to impassioned exclamation.

After the adjudication, Sansara were named as winners of the competition, and also were awarded the Audience Prize, as voted for by the competition audiences across the heats. The prize money received will go towards funding Sansara's first CD recording in 2016.

A review of our Heat is available here.