900 years Zwickau – International choirs join the celebration

2018 is a year to celebrate: INTERKULTUR turns 30 years and the World Choir Games take place for the 10th time already. Furthermore the city of Zwickau – host of the International Robert Schumann Choir Competition since 1992 – celebrates its 900th anniversary.

The International Robert Schumann Choir Competition takes place in Zwickau for the 8th time – and for the first time in combination with the renowned Schumann-Fest Zwickau, which will happen this year from May 31 to June 10, 2018. 

The tradition of the Schumann-Fest dates back to the composer’s lifetime. The first Schumann-Fest in Zwickau took place in 1847. Schumann himself conducted his second symphony then and had composed a huge choral work on this occasion. Four years after his death – commemorating the composer’s 50th birthday – there was a second Schumann-Fest in Zwickau in 1860. This marked the basis of the current Zwickau festival, when each year in June the friends of Robert Schumann’s work meet in Zwickau for this event. In 2018 the festival takes place according to the motto “Beloved home” – also as a special invitation for choirs from all over the world to celebrate the composer in his home town.

So the singers will meet for the first time in early summer for this choir competition instead of late fall, when the previous editions of the event took place. From June 6-10, 2018 they will honor the work of Robert Schumann and his contemporaries in the framework of the Schumann-Fest and the anniversary year in Zwickau celebrating also the 206th birthday of Robert Schumann on June 8.

Those who are interested in celebrating the city’s anniversary in Zwickau and joining the International Robert Schumann Choir Competition as well as the Schumann-Fest as a participant still have the chance to register for the event until January 22, 2018. See here to find out more.