Contest for Vocal Ensembles

Contest 2023 | Entry | Jury | Winners

SØNK (DE), 2019

Contest for Vocal Ensembles

Known for its exciting atmosphere and its high level of quality, the Contest for Vocal Ensembles features vocal ensembles from Finland and abroad. The total prize pool is EUR 10,000. The jury will also award the Grand Prix trophy to the best ensemble in the Contest.

Supporting the competition

The main partner of the Contest for Vocal Ensembles in 2023 is Kalle Kaihari Cultural Foundation.

Jury 2023

Chair: Jussi Chydenius (FI)

Members: Susanna Lukkarinen (FI), Bob Chilcott (UK), Janis Siegel (US), Morten Vinther Sørensen (DK)

Jussi Chydenius

Jussi Chydenius is a highly versatile musician: a bass singer, drummer and composer. He began his musical career as the drummer of Don Huonot, one of Finland’s most popular rock groups in the 1990s, and remained with the group until 2001. He is a founding member of the Rajaton vocal ensemble, which was established in 1997 and won the Contest for Vocal Ensembles in Tampere in 1999. Besides composing for Rajaton, Chydenius has written music for choirs in Finland and abroad. He has been a member of the jury of the Contest for Vocal Ensembles since 2003.

Susanna Lukkarinen

Susanna Lukkarinen is a singer, pianist, composer, arranger and voice teacher. She has been prominent on the Finnish musical scene for quite some time as an ensemble member and solo artist. She is a founding member of the popular vocal ensemble Club For Five and sang with the group from 2000 to 2021. She and her own band have performed at festivals and on tour in more than 20 countries. She has contributed to the albums and concert tours of numerous other Finnish artists, besides appearing as a musician on TV shows and in theatre productions. In addition to her creative work, she teaches voice at the Sibelius Academy and is also a yoga instructor. She is fascinated by the comprehensive nature of the human voice, the connection of mind and body in voice production and in making music.

Bob Chilcott

Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong association with choral music, as a chorister and choral scholar in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and as a member of the King’s Singers. He became a full-time composer and conductor in 1997, and has a large catalogue of choral music, published by Oxford University Press. His most performed pieces include Can you hear me?, A Little Jazz Mass, Requiem, and St John Passion. Bob has directed choirs in more than 30 countries and conducts thousands of amateur singers in a continuing series of Singing Days. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers and Principal Conductor of Birmingham University Singers. His music has been recorded by many choirs and groups in Britain and beyond.

Janis Siegel

Over the past four and a half decades, the voice of Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and an eighteen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in The Manhattan Transfer’s diverse musical catalogue. Alongside her career as a founding member of this musical institution, Siegel has also sustained a solo career that has spawned almost a dozen finely-crafted solo albums and numerous collaborative projects, amassed a large international fan base, and garnered consistently high critical praise. Over the years, Janis’ unmistakable voice has become one of The Manhattan Transfer’s most recognizable trademarks.

Morten Vinther Sørensen

Morten is a Danish conductor, singer, producer, and composer with a master’s degree from The Royal Academy of Music in Aalborg (DK). In 2010 he joined the Swedish vocal group The Real Group and spent almost a decade touring and working globally with the group. Prior to this, Morten was active in various choirs and ensembles in Denmark and the experiences with both vocal groups and larger ensemble give him a broad perspective on vocal music – pedagogically and artistically. Since 2020 Morten is based in Germany, from where he has been working with Syng Selected, Åkervinda, POSTYR, Latvian Voices, Bonner Jazzchor, Songs of The Moment and various activities connected to The Real Group Academy.

Winners

The rewarded vocal ensembles since 1989.

Les Itinérantes (France)

2023

Acoustic ensembles
1. Les Itinérantes (Ranska) – Grand Prix
2. HØST (Tanska/Ruotsi)
Amplified ensembles
1. Flok (Suomi)
Both categories
Audience favourite prize: Flok (Suomi)

Les Itinérantes (France)

AORA (Sweden)

2021

1. AORA (Sweden) – Grand Prix
2. Åkervinda (Sweden)
3. Total Vocal (Israel)
4. A Capella Boğaziçi (Turkey), Les Itinérantes (France)
Audience favourite prize: Vox Populi Project (Mexico)

AORA (Sweden)

SØNK (Denmark)

2019

Acoustic ensembles:
1. Ensemble Nobiles (Germany)
2. Aba Taano (Uganda)
Amplified ensembles:
1. SØNK (Denmark) – Grand Prix
2. Of Cabbages and Kings (Germany)
3. Kuvaja (Finland)

SØNK (Denmark)

Quintense (Germany)

2017

Acoustic ensembles:
1. Ilo Ensemble (Finland)
2. Latvian Voices (Latvia)
3. KOR (Italy)
3. Sine Nomine (Colombia)
Amplified ensembles:
1. Quintense (Germany) – Grand Prix
2. SKETY (Czech Republic)

Quintense (Germany)

ONAIR (Germany)

2015

Acoustic ensembles:
1. Sjaella (Germany)
2. Sekunti (Finland)
3. proMODERN (Poland)
Amplified groups:
1. ONAIR (Germany) – Grand Prix
2. Voco Novo (Taiwan)
2. Estonian Voices (Estonia)
3. The Quintessence (Georgia)

ONAIR (Germany)

Ommm (France)

2013

1. Ommm (France) – Grand Prix
2. JazzIn Sisters (Estonia)
3. Vocal Motion Six (Namibia)
3. Taiga (Finland)

Ommm (France)

Postyr Project (Denmark)

2011

1. Postyr Project (Denmark) – Grand Prix
2. Sonic Suite (Germany)
3. Cappella’A (Lithuania)
3. Egregor vocal (France)

Postyr Project (Denmark)

Klangbezirk (Germany)

2009

1. Klangbezirk (Germany) – Grand Prix
2. Voz en Punto (Mexico)
3. Novy Vek (Russia)
4. Shiva Knows (The Netherlands)

Klangbezirk (Germany)

Vocaldente (Germany)

2007

1. Vocaldente (Germany) – Grand Prix
2. Juice (United Kingdom)
3. Sound Affaire (Germany)
3. Vocado (Sweden)

Vocaldente (Germany)

Contest for Vocal Ensembles