MASTERCLASS WITH FLORIAN HELGATH AND STUDIO CHOIR ZÜRCHER SING-AKADEMIE

01 - 04 October 2026, Leipzig

This chor.com-masterclass in choral conducting with Florian Helgath covers various aspects of working with choirs. The focus is on developing and refining conducting skills, gestures and rehearsal techniques using a variety of works from the Romantic to the Modern periods. 

Participants will have the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice with the Zürcher Sing-Akademie. A concert in Leipzig, conducted by the participants themselves, will conclude the masterclass on Sunday, 4 October 2026.

Florian Helgath © Christian Palm

Florian Helgath has established himself internationally as one of the leading choral conductors. As Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Chorwerk Ruhr and the Zürcher Sing-Akademie, he has shaped the ensembles into top international choirs of the highest calibre, both with a cappella music as well as in the field of choral symphonies. In 2020, Florian Helgath was appointed Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. Since 2024 he has been Professor of Choral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Munich.

For the Zürcher Sing-Akademie, tonal excellence and musical expression are paramount. Since its founding in 2011, the ensemble has grown to become an established fixture in the professional choral world in Europe. Since the season 2017-18, Florian Helgath has been shaping the choir's profile as its artistic director.

REPERTOIRE

The repertoire includes a cappella literature from Romanticism to Modernism:

  • Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897): Fünf Gesänge op 104
  • Frank Martin (1890 – 1974): Messe für zwei vierstimmige Chöre a cappella
  • Frank Martin: Songs of Ariel aus Shakespeares „The Tempest"
  • Heinz Holliger (*1939): mutter unser und intonation (Nr. 4 und 5 aus: himmel hölle)

APPLICATIONS FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

PARTICIPANTS

This masterclass is aimed at choral conducting students and choir directors who wish to refine and develop their conducting, gestures and rehearsal didactics. The number of active participants is limited to six to eight people. Selected parts of the masterclass will also be open to passive participants (listeners).

The masterclass is held in German.

The closing date for applications for active participation was 30 June 2026. 

PASSIV PARTICIPATION

Registered full-access participants of the chor.com can also passively participate in public sessions of the masterclasses without applying. For these time slots, a chor.com ticket (full-access ticket or day ticket) is a prerequisite as is the registration which is part of the workshop bookings.

This masterclass takes place with the kind support of the Leipzigstiftung.

CONTACT AND ENQUIRIES


Maike Fiedler
Deutscher Chorverband e. V.
Karl-Marx-Straße 145, 12043 Berlin, Deutschland 

projektbuero[at]deutscher-chorverband.de, Tel. 030 847108930