Academy

After vocal ensemble coaching with Cantando Admont at the impuls Academy back in 2023, the current edition of the Academy in 2025 is offering vocal coaching with Sarah Maria Sun, one of the foremost and most extraordinary performers in the contemporary music scene. Her repertoire currently spans around 2000 compositions from the 16th to the 21st century, including 400 world premieres. Looking back also at a career as the first soprano of the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart from 2007-2014, a vocal chamber ensemble, that has been one of the world’s leading pioneers of contemporary music for decades, Sarah Maria Sun has not only regularly performed as a soloist, but also shows her tremendous adaptability and skills on the music-theater stage, amongst others at opera houses in Zurich, Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, or the Opéra Bastille and the Opéra Comique in Paris.

All her knowledge, skills and experience, built up for many years by now in a variety of contexts (including also releasing songs with the band Titillating Tofu), she loves to share and pass on to the next generation, be it at masterclasses for vocal music from the 20th and 21st centuries (from Harvard and Chicago to Moscow, Oslo, Stockholm, Dresden, and many other places), or as guest professor in Hannover, Graz and Lucerne. 2022 she also started working as a Professor for Contemporary Music at the Musikhochschule Basel, Switzerland.

At the impuls Academy 2025 in Graz, Sarah Maria Sun will coach selected participants for a week (17.2. arrival day - 25.2. day of departure; staying until the end of the impuls Academy and Festival is possible of course) in individual and group meetings, following their interests, profiles and needs, and support them in the realization of solo literature, Lied, as well as (vocal-)ensemble and chamber music pieces.

Participants are welcome to name their specific interests and profiles, suggest literature they want to either work on or get general support for, and will of course also be offered a selection of compositions by Sarah Maria Sun, to work on and possibly also present during impuls.

As another important aspect of the impuls Academy's concept has always been to interconnect composer and performer, the young vocalists are also offered to make use of the rare possibility to work with the renowned composition coaches on a selection of their pieces on spot. Needless to state, impuls of course also encourages the cooperation with the many international young composition participants by a variety of Special Programs for 2025, that also include vocal participants (such as Call for Scores for Voices, calling for compositions for voice solo up to vocal quintet, Call for Scores for Voice+Saxophone+Double bass, or Call for Duos for Voice + Piano or Saxophone or Double bass).

Also, where desired, a cooperation of the young vocalists with individual musicians, chamber music formations and ensembles participating in the impuls Academy, can be established to work on compositions of interest for both parties.

Like all other participants of the impuls Academy 2025, also the young vocalists are welcome to take advantage of the many discourse programs* impuls holds (from daily group lectures to discussions, talks etc.) and enjoy the impuls Festival program*.

Furthermore, the young vocalists will find slots within the Festival to present themselves, be it with repertoire or pieces developed during impuls, be it as soloists, vocal ensemble or part of other formations.

Last but not least, the Academy will function as vivid meeting point and platform for interaction, exchange, knowledge-transfer, and networking.

Please check general Conditions for impuls 2025 and proceed with Registration if interested.

In case of further questions, please contact the impuls office at office@impuls.cc

* As the Festival and discourse programs are still in preparation for 2025, you may want to check last year´s edition to get a general idea about the scope and nature of the various offers.