Ralf Eisenbeiß was born in 1952 in Zeulenroda. After his secondary school examination he studied pedagogy, German philology and musical education. He received his PhD in 1979 at the Pedagogical University of Zwickau. From 1978 to 1981, he studied choir and orchestra conducting at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was working as the director of the choral department at the Pedagogical University in Zwickau and appointed professor for choir conducting and choral singing in 1987. He was conductor of the renowned Pedagogical University Zwickau Choir. With his choir he performed a wide repertoire of compositions for a cappella choirs and with orchestra, too. Under his direction the choir won numerous prizes at national and international choir competitions.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was lecturer at the central seminar for choral conductors in Berlin and organized numerous workshops himself. He often appears as guest conductor at home and abroad. Since almost 30 years he works as artistic director of INTERKULTUR. Ralf Eisenbeiß is founder of the Int. Robert Schumann Choir Competition in Zwickau and one of the founders of the World Choir Games. Since 1992 he was responsible for more than 150 international competitions of INTERKULTUR in Germany, Italy, Korea, Indonesia, China, Austria, Spain, USA and other countries. Ralf Eisenbeiß is very often invited as a juror in national and other international choir competitions all over the world.

Hans-Hermann Rehberg was born in Altmark (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) in 1956. Following his vocal studies he joined the ensemble at the Musical Comedy Leipzig, after which he became a member of Berlin Radio Choir in 1981. He assumed the position of the choir’s managing director in 1990 and achieved to position the ensemble amongst the leading concert choirs worldwide.

As managing director Rehberg expanded international contacts, organised worldwide tours and established partnerships with renowned conductors, orchestras, festivals and record labels. In the 90s he developed educational music projects together with the former chief conductor Robin Gritton. In cooperation with the former chief conductor Simon Halsey he established the initiative Broadening the Scope of Choral Music in 2005 which aims at creating visionary concert formats, sing-along concerts and education projects in order to make choir music accessible for a wider audience. "A professional choir needs to be avantgarde. It needs to define a high quality standard and set the trends of tomorrow", Rehberg claims. As a consequence Berlin Radio Choir has regularly commissioned works and staged world-premieres from composers such as Wolfgang Riehm, Hans Werner Henze, Jonathan Harvey, Christian Jost and Eric Whitacre.

In 2012 Hans-Hermann Rehberg received the Medal "Geschwister Mendelssohn" of the Berlin Choral Association for his outstanding merits for choral music in Berlin. Since 2014 he has been holding a lectureship for music management and career planning at the school of music and theatre in Rostock. He is furthermore a member in the board of the "Bundeswettbewerb Gesang".

- in memoriam -

Christian Ljunggren was born in 1942. He studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm as well as musicology and theology at the University of Uppsala. For many years he worked at the Music Department of the Swedish National Broadcasting Company, and was responsible for the presentation and programming regarding music.

He was the conductor of the Adolf Fredrik Madrigal Choir since their foundation (1965 and 1974). He was the first President of the Swedish Choral Directors Association (1986 – 1998) and President of KÖRSAM, the joint committee of the Swedish choral organisations (1997 – 2004). From 1997-1999  he worked for the of IFCM, the International Federation for Choral Music, as the Secretary General from 1997-1999 and as a liaison officer (until 2005).

He was one of the Artistic Directors of INTERKULTUR and the Artistic Director of the World Choir Games. Due to his engagement as a clinician for seminars and workshops around the world and having built up the INTERKULTUR series of seminars in China the Swede gained growing recognition since 2003.

Christian Ljunggren has written numerous articles in Swedish and international magazines and was also a keen arranger of choral music.

Johan Rooze studied Piano and Conducting at the Utrecht Conservatory, the Netherlands. Later he went to the U.S. to specialize in Jazz Piano, Singing and Arranging.

He was founder and 23 years Musical Director of the Utrecht University Vocal Group “Dekoor”. They won many prices such as The Dutch Choir Festival, The International Vocal Group Festival and the “Idols for choir” TV show, “Korenslag” 2007 in the Netherlands. He was Conductor of the Utrecht Student Symphonic Choir and Orchestra. With these choirs he toured all over the world. Johan Rooze founded the “Dudok-Ensemble”, an outstanding Project Choir, conducted the monthly Bach Cantatas in Utrecht and was guest conductor with the National Radio Choir.

Furthermore he was Professor for Vocal Jazz, Conducting and Arranging at the Conservatories of Rotterdam and Alkmaar, a member of the board of Musical Advisors for the Dutch Royal Christian Music Association and Artistic Director for the International Choir Festival, Netherlands 2005.

In 2008 he moved to South Korea and teaches Choral Music and Jazz Piano at the Yeongnam University. He is musical director of a new Jazz Choir (Yaenoeul Jazz Singers) and in 2010 he founded the professional Daegu Students Choir. He is a frequent guest conductor with other choirs. Besides his choral work he is very active as a Jazz Pianist and Arranger. He works as Artistic Director for INTERKULTUR and is a frequently asked adjudicator, speaker and workshop-leader internationally.

Fred Sjöberg, born 1953, is an educated singer and choral conductor at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and Örebro. Among others he has studied with Prof. Solwig Grippe, Prof. Eric Ericson and Prof. Helmuth Rilling. He has been the first conductor to conduct the three major international youth choirs as World Youth Choir (1991 and 2005), World Chamber Choir (1993) and European Youth Choir (1999).

When the Swedish organization for young choirs “UngiKör” started he was elected as their first president. In 2000 he was appointed as the “Conductor of the Year” in Sweden by SCDA (Swedish Choral Directors Association) appointed with the Johannes Norrby Medallion for outstanding and 2001 service and development to the Swedish Choral Life. From 1997 to 2004 he was the Music Director and conductor of the project “Notes for Millions”.

From 2000 to 2004 he was also Music Director of the Swedish Choral Centre as well as Artistic Director for Lund International Choral Festival from 2005 to 2006. Since 2009 he is Music Director of Swedish International Choral Centre in Örebro. Fred Sjöberg has been Vice President of Europa Cantat as well as President of the Music Commission of Europa Cantat and has also been Vice President of IFCM.

He is Council Member of INTERKULTUR and also on the Artistic Directorium of INTERKULTUR.

From 2015 he is General Artistic Director of INTERKULTUR.

Romāns Vanags is a graduate of Emils Darzins' specialized music college and of the Department of Choir and Orchestra Conducting of Jazeps Vitols' Latvian State Conservatory in Riga. He has received a diploma in choir conducting and in music pedagogy and additionally studied orchestra conducting.

In 2003, Vanags received the master's degree in music. His professional work is focused on conducting and pedagogy. He served as the Chief Conductor of the teachers' choir "Vanema" for a long time and since 1990 as the principal Conductor of the Latvian University female choir "Minjona". Furthermore he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Jāzeps Mediņš Music School boys` choir and worked with the Jazeps Medins Music College Symphonic Orchestra. From 1987 thru 1994, Vanags was employed at the Latvian Music Academy in Riga as professor of choir conducting and as the conductor of the academy choir. From 2005 to 2012 Vanags was the head of the Conducting Department.

Vanags has been appointed as one of the chief conductors of the All Latvian Song Celebration and the Youth Song Festival. Since 2004, Vanags is the chairman of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO on the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, and since 2008, he is also a member of the World Choir Council. In 2008 Romāns Vanags received the highest civil decoration in Latvia – the Three Star Order. Romāns Vanags was a member of the artistic committee of the 8th World Choir Games in Riga and belongs since 2014 to the Artistic Board of INTERKULTUR.

During the last years Jürgen Faßbender achieved with his choirs numerous 1st prizes at renowned international choir competitions such as "let the people sing", Arezzo, Riva del Garda, Tours, Trelew, Prague, Kleipeda, Llangollen, Vienna, Wernigerode and Choir Olympics Bremen and won the German Choir Competition (Deutscher Chorwettbewerb) several times.

He is a member of the Federal Music Committee of the Hessian Singers' Association, the Choir Association Rhineland-Palatinate, the Literature Committee of the German Choir Competition and the Association of Professional German Choir Conductors.

Since 2012 he has been working as a co-editor of the popular choir book series "Reine Männersache" edited by Peters-Verlag, Frankfurt.

He is an internationally renowned juror, guest conductor and clinician and since 2008 Artistic Director of the Hesse State Youth Choir. In 2012 he was appointed to the World Choir Council.

Heinz Ferlesch is the Artistic Director of the Singakademie Wien, the choir Ad Libitum and the original sound ensemble Barucco.

Within his career as a choir-director he has worked with conductors like Georges Prêtre, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Ton Koopman, Helmuth Rilling and Simone Young.

Engagements of the Wiener Singakademie took him – besides periodic performances at Vienna Konzerthaus – to London, Zurich, Budapest, Venice and New York.

In 2002, Heinz Ferlesch founded his orchestra "Barucco" and since then he has increased his appearances as an orchestra conductor. "Barucco", a young ensemble consisting of international baroque specialists, focuses mainly on the music of 18th century.

Heinz Ferlesch also works extensively with the choir "Ad Libitum", which he has founded in 1993. This mixed choir is focusing on A-capella music.

In 2008 he was awarded the renowned Ferdinand Grossmann Prize and in 2013 he became Cultural Laureate of Lower Austria. Heinz Ferlesch is a guest lecturer of Berkshire Choral Festival and also member of the jury of several national and international choir competitions. Since 2002 he is teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Since 2016 Heinz Ferlesch is member of the World Choir Council for Austria.

Dimitris Ktistakis was born in Larissa. He studied at the Saarland College of Music and Dramatic Art, where he acquired a degree in Piano Teaching and three Postgraduate degrees: in Piano Performance, Choral Conducting and Orchestral Conducting. He was selected in the two-year experimental postgraduate class Lied-Duo with Anne Kathrin Fetik and Professor Irvine Gage. He was the first conductor of the award-winning "Madrigalchor Dillingen" and a scholar of the Richard Wagner Foundation. His assets include recordings for German radio and television as well as appearances as a soloist, conductor, and accompanist of ensembles in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Romania, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Latvia, Sweden, USA and Australia. He is a member of juries in international competitions. He taught "Vocal Ensemble Direction" at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and was the conductor of the Kozani Municipal Conservatory. He is the artistic director of the "Trikala Youth Symphony Orchestra" and conductor of the female vocal ensemble "InDONNAtión", with which he holds 4 gold awards in four successive competitions organized by INTERKULTUR. He holds the first Doctoral degree awarded in Greece in Performance of Choral Conducting (DMA). As of January 2016, he has been collaborating with the Greek Radio choir (ERT). Today he is an Assistant Professor at the Music Department of the Ionian University in Corfu, conductor of the Choir, the Vocal Ensemble and teaching the Mixed Choir Conducting Class.

Josep Prats was born in Barcelona in 1953. He studied singing, musicology, harmony, counterpoint, fugue... at Badalona and Barcelona conservatories, and conducting with A. Ros Marbà. He has been pupile in choral conducting of Jordi Casas, Erwin List, Laszlo Heltay, Pierre Cao and others.

He has been chairman of the Catalan Federation of Choirs’s Music Committee (FCEC), and member of the Europa Cantat Permanent Music Committee. He has taught Choral Singing and Chamber Music in the ‘Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu’ and ‘Institut del Teatre’. At present he is conducting Coral Cantiga (Barcelona), Cor Ciutat de Tarragona (Tarragona) and he is director of children music program called ‘Cantània’ produced by ‘Auditori Nacional de Catalunya’. He has been Guest Conductor of the Spanish Radio and Television Choir (RTVE); very often he conducts everywhere different profesional and amateur choirs as a guest.

He has been invited to conduct by different national and international choir festivals, he is often asked to be jury member of different international choir competitions and regularly gives choral conducting courses in Spain, Portugal, France and South America.

Johan Rooze studied Piano and Conducting at the Utrecht Conservatory, the Netherlands. Later he went to the U.S. to specialize in Jazz Piano, Singing and Arranging.

He was founder and 23 years Musical Director of the Utrecht University Vocal Group “Dekoor”. They won many prices such as The Dutch Choir Festival, The International Vocal Group Festival and the “Idols for choir” TV show, “Korenslag” 2007 in the Netherlands. He was Conductor of the Utrecht Student Symphonic Choir and Orchestra. With these choirs he toured all over the world. Johan Rooze founded the “Dudok-Ensemble”, an outstanding Project Choir, conducted the monthly Bach Cantatas in Utrecht and was guest conductor with the National Radio Choir.

Furthermore he was Professor for Vocal Jazz, Conducting and Arranging at the Conservatories of Rotterdam and Alkmaar, a member of the board of Musical Advisors for the Dutch Royal Christian Music Association and Artistic Director for the International Choir Festival, Netherlands 2005.

In 2008 he moved to South Korea and teaches Choral Music and Jazz Piano at the Yeongnam University. He is musical director of a new Jazz Choir (Yaenoeul Jazz Singers) and in 2010 he founded the professional Daegu Students Choir. He is a frequent guest conductor with other choirs. Besides his choral work he is very active as a Jazz Pianist and Arranger. He works as Artistic Director for INTERKULTUR and is a frequently asked adjudicator, speaker and workshop-leader internationally.

Karmina Šilec is an artistic director of Carmina Slovenica, ensemble !Kebataola! and Choregie – new music theatre, conductor, composer and director - author. With her unique concept choregie she brought freshness and originality to the world of vocal music and theatre, has opened wider artistic spaces and set trends worldwide.

As conductor and director she has projects with various companies, opera houses and ensembles, her productions have been performed worldwide on stages and festivals of the highest esteem. Karmina Šilec has received more than 20 highest international awards at choir competitions and International Robert Edler Prize for Choral Music for her exceptional contribution to the world choir movement. She also works as an artistic adviser for choral music, university professor for conducting, a guest conductor and jury member at festivals and competitions.

Bass-baritone Axel Scheidig started his musical training at the Special school for music education in Wernigerode and the Radio Youth Choir. From 1991 to 1998 he studied singing and musical theatre at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar.

In 1997 Axel Scheidig was a laureate of the International Handel Competition in Halle, Germany and in 1998 first prize winner at the German Music Information Center together with the vocal ensemble “Die Weimarer Hofsänger”, which he co-founded. Numerous recordings, concerts and guest performances at home and abroad document his extensive experience in the field of chamber music and soloist performances.

From 1998 on Axel Scheidig worked together with the Radio Choirs of NDR, WDR and BR as well as the Radio Choir Berlin, where he became an established member in 2005. Here he regularly performs as a soloist with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Simon Halsey, Marek Janowski, Marc Minkowski and Gijs Leenaars at the Berlin Philharmonic, at the Easter Festival Salzburg, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, at the Sala São Paulo or the Teatro Colón.