Contest for Vocal Ensembles

Registration is now open for the Contest for Vocal Ensembles 2025!

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 2025

The Contest will have an international five-member jury chaired by Jussi Chydenius (FI). Other members of the jury: Susanna Lukkarinen (FI), Kim Nazarian (US), John Potter (GB), 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, 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 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.

Kim Nazarian

Kim Nazarian is a world renowned, Grammy nominated jazz performing and recording artist, educator and clinician. Besides her work as a sought-after solo vocalist, she has been performing all over the world with the vocal group “New York Voices“ (NYV) for more than 35 years. She is a jazz voice teacher for Vocal Jazz Majors at Ithaca College and she shares her perspectives on music and life as a musician through teaching private students in clinics, workshops, jazz camps and masterclasses, as well as through festival adjudication and guest conducting for singers on all levels in the US and abroad.

John Potter

John Potter is an ECM artist and writer. He is a former member of the Hilliard Ensemble and was a major contributor to the Officium project with saxophonist Jan Garbarek. He has a discography of some 150 titles ranging from Arvo Paert and Veljo Tormis to John Paul Jones and Sting. His books include A History of Singing (Cambridge University Press) and Song: a History in 12 Parts (Yale University Press) and he is editor of The Cambridge Companion to Singing. His current ensemble is the Alternative History Quartet with soprano Anna Maria Friman and lutenists Ariel Abramovich and Jacob Heringman. John chaired the Tampere ensemble jury for many years and is Reader Emeritus in Music at the University of York, UK.

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, Twäng and Songs of The Moment among others.

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)

2005

2003

2001

1999

1997

1995

1993

Serious music

Light music

1991

Serious music

Light music

1989