Application phase is ongoing!

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Dear a cappella enthusiasts,
 
In 2023 and 2024, the Leipzig International a cappella Contest was finally able to offer budding vocal ensembles from around the globe a platform for their further development following the pandemic. After the Polish octet Art’n’Voices clinched the 2023 competition, in 2024 the Leipzig a cappella Award went to another octet, calens vokalensemble stuttgart, who also captured the Audience Prize. The following two places were garnered by German vocal groups, too, with Lylac from Mainz finishing second, and Luminosa from Munich in third, the latter also claiming the amarcord Special Award. Despite the presence of many fledgling ensembles, these newcomers not only performed to an exceptional standard but also brought more vibrancy, creativity and – owing to the large number of all-female groups – a greater feminine influence than ever before. The spirit of the a cappella Contest was vibrantly alive, marked by a spirit of cooperative and supportive exchange among the ensembles.
 

The 15th Leipzig International a cappella Contest will take place from 4 to 7 June 2025. The application phase continues until end of February 2025 and entries are invited from vocal ensembles of all styles. Besides competing for prize money totalling €7,000, participants will benefit from an extensive guidance programme featuring a cappella experts. This presents an unmatched opportunity for gaining experience, receiving constructive feedback, and acquiring creative insights, providing long-term support for emerging ensembles. Full details will be made available under ‘Application’.

We look forward to seeing you soon in Leipzig!

amarcord and the a cappella team

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Programme

4 June 2025 – 1pm
15th International a cappella Contest Leipzig
Gewandhaus (Großer Saal), Augustusplatz 8, 04109 Leipzig
5 June 2024 – 11am
15th International a cappella Contest Leipzig
Gewandhaus (Großer Saal), Augustusplatz 8, 04109 Leipzig
6 June 2025 – 5pm
a cappella Showcase
Concert by the participating ensembles in the International a cappella Contest with awards ceremony to follow
Kupfersaal, Kupfergasse 2, 04109 Leipzig
7 June 2025– 1pm
a cappella Seminar with Prof. Dr. Michael Fuchs
Basislager, Petersteinweg 14, 04107 Leipzig
7 June 2025 – 7pm
Final concert
Highlights of the festival week
Gewandhaus (Großer Saal), Augustusplatz 8, 04109 Leipzig
contest

Jury

Juan Garcia

Jury member

Robert Pohlers

Jury member

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Partners & Sponsors

Main Partner

BMW Group Leipzig Logo Klein

Main Sponsors

Förderer Logo Kulturamt Stadt Leipzig
Förderer Logo Kulturstiftung Sachsen

Cultural Partner

Media Partner

Deutschlandfunk Logo

Sponsors

Sachsenquelle Logo

Partner

Cooperation Partners

Gewandhaus Orchester Logo
Stadtbibliothek Leipzig Logo
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Impressions

Evelyn Klaunzer

Evelyn Klaunzer comes from Upper Austria and studied flute and singing at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg with Prof. Marianne Geise and Prof. Marianne Schartner. She has lived and worked in Duisburg since 2007, where she works full-time as a freelance arranger and composer, but also as a flute and vocal teacher and voice coach. Her clients for arrangements and compositions are mainly professional musicians in various large and small ensembles, including the WDR Funkhausorchester, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, the trombone section of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the a cappella formation amarcord from Leipzig, the Austrian Salonists in various formations and many other groups of artists. The music publishers Martin Schmid Blechbläsernoten, Köbl and Karl Edelmann already have some of her works in their programmes. In her busy concert career, she has already taken part in various musical projects in Austria and Germany.

Robert Pohlers

Robert Pohlers, tenor of amarcord since 2013, was a member of the Leipzig St Thomas Choir, where he appeared as a soloist at an early age and was honoured several times for his services to the choir. After graduating he studied singing at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” under Prof. Roland Schubert until 2020. In the course of his concert career, which has already taken him to over 30 countries, Pohlers has worked with renowned ensembles and conductors, including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Friuli Giulia Venezia Orchestra, Georg Christoph Biller, Gotthold Schwarz, HK Gruber, Steven Sloan, as well as at important venues such as the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, Teatro Colòn Buenos Aires, Royal Academy of Music London, Vienna Musikverein, Prinzregententheater Munich and others. In addition to appearances on the opera stage, the tenor is increasingly developing a broad song repertoire. Various CD, radio, TV and DVD productions document his musical activities both as part of an ensemble and as a soloist. His first solo CD with songs by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was released in 2021. Since 2023, Pohlers has been the artistic director and conductor of the Leipzig chamber choir “Ensemble TonArt” and, together with amarcord, a lecturer in ensemble singing at the Leipzig University of Music.

Simon Carrington, Jury President

Simon Carrington, founding member of The King´s Singers and Yale University professor emeritus, has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in music, performing as singer, double bass player and conductor. During his Yale tenure he led the introduction of a new graduate voice degree for singers specializing in oratorio, early music and chamber ensemble. He now keeps up an active schedule as a freelance conductor and choral clinician, leading workshops and master classes around the world. For the 2016-17 academic year he accepted the position of Visiting Professor of Choral Conducting to work alongside Simon Halsey and his students at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Juan Garcia

The former autodidact Juan M. V. Garcia is a qualified jazz singer and music teacher who has won all internationally renowned prizes with the pop-jazz vocal quartet Klangbezirk. As an arranger, Garcia works for Echo award winners such as the ensemble amarcord, Calmus, but also the BundesJugendJazzOrchester. His diverse experience as a vocal coach, musical director at various theatres, workshop leader, moderator, author, singer/instrumentalist and music producer has been followed since 2017 by a professorship in choral and ensemble conducting at the Hochschule für Musik »Franz Liszt« in Weimar.

Winnie Brückner

Winnie Brückner is singer and arranger as well as lecturer in jazz/pop choral conduction and jazz singing at the Hochschule für Musik »Franz Liszt« in Weimar. She is founding member and artistic director of the vocal quartet »niniwe« that has won numerous prizes at international a-cappella competitions in Graz, Tampere, Taipei und Aarhus. As singer she acts in different bands und projects which are leading her to concert tours through Europe, Asia and USA.

Robert Pohler

Robert Pohlers, seit 2013 Tenor bei amarcord, begann seine Ausbildung als Sänger als Mitglied des Leipziger Thomanerchores, wo er bereits früh als Solist in Erscheinung trat und für seine Verdienste um den Chor mehrfach ausgezeichnet wurde. Nach seinem Abitur studierte er bis 2020 an der Leipziger Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ in der Klasse von Roland Schubert Gesang. Im Zuge seiner Konzerttätigkeit, die ihn bereits in über 30 Länder führte, arbeitete Pohlers mit namhaften Ensembles und Dirigenten, darunter dem Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, dem Münchener Kammerorchester, dem Friuli Giulia Venezia Orchestra, Georg Christoph Biller, Gotthold Schwarz, HK Gruber, Steven Sloan, sowie an bedeutenden Orten wie dem Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, Teatro Colòn Buenos Aires, Royal Academy of Music London, Wiener Musikverein, Prinzregententheater München und weiteren. Neben Auftritten auf der Opernbühne erarbeitet sich der Tenor zunehmend ein breites Lied- Repertoire. Diverse CD-, Rundfunk-, TV- und DVD-Produktionen dokumentieren seine musikalische Tätigkeit sowohl im Ensemble als auch solistisch. Im Jahr 2021 erschien seine erste Solo-CD mit Liedern von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Seit 2023 ist Pohlers künstlerischer Leiter und Dirigent des Leipziger Kammerchores „Ensemble TonArt“ sowie gemeinsam mit amarcord Lehrbeauftragter an der Leipziger Musikhochschule im Fach Ensemblesingen.