European GP for choral Singing 2018

European GP for choral Singing 2018

Allmänna Sången

The choir presents a rare combination of well–established traditions and innovative musicianship. Founded as a male–voice choir, it has been part of the academic life in Uppsala since 1830. Reforming as a mixed choir in 1963, they continue to honour the rich Swedish choral tradition as well as highlighting music by contemporary composers. Its heterogeneous repertoire wishes to inspire the listeners not only to enjoy treasured music gifts of the past, but also to discover new music. Through its long history, the choir made many appearances on stages in Sweden and across the globe. They perform their own concerts and collaborate with other artists. In 2014, they carried out a large-scale production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana together with Swedish Folkoperan. They performed the main entertainment event Floral Transformation during the Nobel banquet in Stockholm in 2005, released the CD Resonanser–Swedish Choral Music New Perspectives in 2009, and won the Swedish Grammis–award the same year for best classical album. During autumn 2015 and spring 2016, Allmänna Sången recorded a new album: Femina Moderna, consisting of music by female contemporary composers. 

Maria Goundorina

Maria Goundorina was born in Novosokolniki in Russia and grew up near Moscow, where she started singing in choirs at the age of seven, taking up conducting when she was fifteen. She studied at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music College and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory (with Boris Tevlin) and later at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Anders Eby, also following courses in musicology at the University of Vienna. Her ideals in terms of choral sound were influenced by these cities and her studies, but also by her own experiences as a singer and conductor. She has been a member of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Chamber Choir, the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and Mikaeli Chamber Choir, and has conducted numerous Swedish choirs, including the Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and the choir of the Royal Swedish Opera. Since 2010 Maria Goundorina has been artistic director of Allmänna Sången. She also teaches choral direction and singing and Russian music at courses in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.