Academy

Cordula Bürgi musical direction
Cornelia Sonnleithner alto
Piotr Pieron bass

 

 

Having already been part of the impuls Academy coaching team in 2023, Cantando Admont is back again to take care of the vocal ensemble program, running from 14.2.-19.2.2027 (day of departure: 20.2.2027). Depending still a bit on the types of voices, the vocalists actually signing up, artistic director Cordula Bürgi, alto Cornelia Sonnleithner and bassist Piotr Pieron intend to focus on a pool of compositions such as Heinz Holliger´s "Die Jahreszeiten", Rebecca Saunder`s "Soliloquy", Luigi Nono´s "¿Dónde estás hermano?", Elisabeth Harnik´s "belem" and, last but least, Beat Furrer's "A Sei Voci", who will also give support to the vocalists at rehearsals on site. The vocal ensemble program concludes with a performance of pieces worked on together, and further contributions of several other members of Cantando Admont at the final concert of the impuls Festival on February 19th.
If of interest, participants of the vocal ensemble program can also sign up for the full Academy length (8.-19.2., day of departure 20.2.2027), and up to eight vocalists selected will then be included in the vocal studio (9.-14.2 / arrival day 8.2.2027) of Sarah Maria Sun, offering also individual lessons and the participation in several special programs, both leading to presentations at the impuls Festival as well.

 

 

Driven by the conviction that contemporary vocal music requires new impulses, and by the desire to revive the rich repertoire of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and early Baroque, committed singers founded the ensemble Cantando Admont under the artistic direction of Cordula Bürgi. The ensemble brings together outstanding voices that set standards in the interpretation of both early and contemporary music through their nuanced vocal culture and interpretative excellence. Drawing on this experience, and with strong artistic commitment and enthusiasm, the ensemble seeks to reassert the richness of the historical vocal heritage within contemporary musical creation. Cantando Admont is guided by the conviction that only a profound engagement with the repertoire of the past can enable contemporary music to flourish anew while liberating it from the constraints of narrow specialization. In this dialogue between historical depth and present-day creation, the ensemble sees the possibility of renewed artistic innovation.

Over the past decade, Cantando Admont has established a strong regional presence alongside growing national and international recognition. Through numerous guest performances as well as its own concert series — Concert Talk, solo cantando, and Junge Stimmen — the ensemble has developed a widely acknowledged concert tradition in Graz, Styria, and Vienna, becoming an integral part of both the Austrian and international music landscape. This development is reflected in invitations to leading festivals and venues including the Salzburg Festival, steirischer herbst, Wien Modern, Wiener Festwochen, Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein Wien, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gasteig Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Opernhaus Zürich, and Onassis Stegi Athens.

Cantando Admont regularly commissions new works from emerging composers as well as from internationally established artists, thereby making a substantial contribution to the promotion and ongoing development of contemporary vocal music. Of particular importance is the long-standing artistic collaboration with Beat Furrer, which has resulted in numerous new works, including the opera "Das große Feuer", premiered at Opernhaus Zürich.

Ongoing collaborations with Klangforum Wien and Ensemble PHACE enable the ensemble to present major works at the intersection of vocal and instrumental music. In addition, Cantando Admont frequently appears alongside orchestras and ensembles such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, Philharmonia Zürich, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Duo Nimikry, Ensemble Nikel, and Ensemble KNM Berlin. Alongside its artistic director and conductor Cordula Bürgi, the ensemble has worked with conductors including Beat Furrer, Pablo Heras-Casado, David Robertson, Matthias Pintscher, and Jordi Savall. In the 2027 season, Cantando Admont will perform for the first time under the direction of Marie Jacquot and Eva Ollikainen.

The conductor Cordula Bürgi, born and raised in Switzerland, studied violin at the Lucerne School of Music and conducting at the Basel Academy of Music. In 2016 she founded the ensemble Cantando Admont. This solistically cast ensemble of outstanding vocalists and instrumentalists established itself on the European music scene under her direction and artistic leadership within shortly.

 

cantando-admont.com

 

 

Cordula Bürgi, Cornelia Sonnleithner and Piotr Pieron will be present at impuls between February 14th and 20th.

Further ensemble members of Cantando Admont will be present a couple of days as well, to prepare for the final concert on February 19th.