Youth Choir Festival 2021

Aarhus Vocal Festival and the national youth choir organisation, Syng, invites you to an evening of top class vocal music. You will experience five completely different ensembles, who will take the audience on a journey through a great part of Denmark’s diverse and effervescent choir scene. The ensembles are: Maestra (Rhythmic girls’ choir), SØNK (vocal group), BarbAros (Barbershop choir), Mariagerfjord Pigekor (Rhythmic girls’ choir), and the national youth choir for contemporary vocal music, Syng Selected. This concert 2021 is part of the online festival eAAVF that covers both online concerts as well as hybrid workshops both online and for local audiences around the world. The concert is financially supported by Aarhus Municipality, the foundation “Korsangernes Fællesråd” and Syng.

About Syng
Syng (“Sing” in danish) is a national youth choir organisation that works for giving more young people the possibility to sing in a choir.

Syng Selected is an a cappella choir consisting of 32 of Denmark’s most talented young choir singers in the ages of 18-30 years, who comes from the whole country. Syng Selected was founded by the Danish Youth Choir Association SYNG in 2014, and in a few years, they have become an international name in the world of rhythmic choir. The choir meets on weekends 4-5 times a year at boarding schools to rehearse and get ready for concerts. In addition to concerts on several prominent stages in Denmark, the choir has toured in Israel, Sweden, and most recently New York in 2020, where the choir won the competition ACA Idol. The choir is a project choir and therefore changes conductor every other year. Currently, Syng Selected is conducted by Morten Vinther Sørensen, probably best known for his ten years in The Real Group. Syng Selected brings you power and energy, happiness and heartache, and pure beauty when the voices of the young singers melt together in soothing harmony. Get ready for the unexpected. Get ready for Syng Selected!

BarbAros is a barbershop chorus consisting of 35 male singers between ages 18 – 35. The chorus was founded in 2017 and is led by Jonas Rasmussen. In October 2019 BarbAros participated in choral competition “Let the Peoples Sing” hosted by the European Broadcasting Union. Out of nine finalists BarbAros won the competition and the Silver Rose Bowl trophy. The chorus has participated in the Nordic Barbershop Championships twice and won bronze both times.

Mariagerfjord Pigekor is a rhythmic girls’ choir that sings at an elite level, where the love of unity is the key to choral singing in a class of its own. The choir consists of 26 girls aged 13-20 from Mariagerfjord municipality, and with their conductor Christian Fris-Ronsfeld they are constantly aiming for new musical adventures. In addition to doing concerts and touring at home and abroad, the choir also occasionally sings with well-known Danish artists, such as Steffen Brandt, Emmelie De Forest, Michael Falch and Hjalmer. The singers create together experiences for life and sing songs for the heart. The choir is accompanied by Johannes Aaen Jensen (piano), Henriette Krogh (drums) and Rasmus Boje-Nielsen (bass).

Vocal group SØNK consists of eight singers forming a mixed-voiced septet added human beatbox. The group is dedicated to being in sync with contemporary pop and R&B melodies with a sound deeply influenced by the bright Scandinavian timbre. SØNK aims to be an acknowledged, high-profile vocal group in the field of contemporary a capella music which is why they seek to take part in performances on big stages inside and outside of Denmark. SØNK unites singers from well-known and praised Danish choirs. With a common passion and desire to develop vocal and choral music, the eight friends from Aarhus, Denmark, formed SØNK in 2018. SØNK gained a large fanbase in little time which indicates the level of talent and sense for detail amongst the singers. In 2019, SØNK was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix and 1st prize in the contest for Vocal Ensembles at the Tampere Vocal Music Festival.

MAESTRA is a girls’ choir with singers aged 15-25 from Aarhus Music School. The choir sings modern vocal music, from Swedish and Bulgarian folk music to pop and world. The arrangements are often written by the choir’s conductor Malene Rigtrup. Maestra has a high concert activity and has collaborated with a large number of artists, as well as sung several times on live TV. In 2021 the choir’s singers themselves have composed 5 new songs for girls’ choirs with videos in the project “We must persevere, but stick to what?”
www.maestra.dk