"Thank you for the excellent organisation during our whole visit. It was a wonderful experience for us - not just because we had such a surprising win, but also because we enjoyed our time so much."
Lanna International Choir Competition
Singing in the wonderful Land of Smiles
In 2011, INTERKULTUR brought the first choral competition ever to be hosted in Vietnam. It was the beginning of a new very successful event series in the region of South East Asia. With the 1st Lanna International Choir Competition in Thailand, the "Land of Smiles", INTERKULTUR will build on the success of this event series.
Chiang Mai is situated before the scenery of overgrown mountains, thundering waterfalls, rain forest, rice fields and numerous Buddhist temples.
For many hundred years it was the capital of Lanna Thai – the "Kingdom of Million Rice Fields". Also called the "Rose of the North", Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second biggest and important city today.
It is not only a popular tourist destination, but also an impressive venue for an international competition, where choirs from all over the world will sing together and will get to know the Thai culture.
Participation Opportunities
This INTERKULTUR event provides you the opportunity to choose from the following options of participation:
Non-competitive participation | Competitive Participation |
---|---|
Non-competitive Festival Participation* | Competition categories* |
Evaluation Performance* | Evaluation Performance* |
Individual Coaching* | Individual Coaching* |
Friendship Concert Performance included
- Category A – Level of difficulty I
- A1 – Mixed Choirs
- A2 – Male Choirs
- A3 – Female Choirs
- Category B – Level of difficulty II
- B1 – Mixed Choirs
- B2 – Male Choirs
- B3 – Female Choirs
- Category G – Children’s and Youth Choirs
- G1 – Children’s Choirs
- G2 – Youth Choirs of equal voices
- G3 – Mixed Youth Choirs
- Category F – Folklore
- Category GS – Gospel & Spiritual
A detailed description of the competition categories can also be found in the booklet available for download:
Participant Information(1.3 MB)
The respective Category Winners are invited to participate in the competition for the Grand Prize. The jury reserves the right to nominate further choirs for participation. The winner of this competition will receive the Lanna Choir Prize 2016 - endowed with 1.500 €.
- Program: two freely chosen a cappella pieces which may not be the ones the choir had already performed in their whole competition program. Those two pieces must be confirmed by the Artistic Committee.
- Singing time: the maximum actual singing time is 8 minutes.
Evaluation Performance
For non-competing choirs
- three (3) pieces of the choir’s own choice
- performed before a panel of qualified international jurors who provide immediate positive artistic and pedagogical advice for improvement
- certificates of participation will be awarded, as well as evaluation ratings and recommendation letters for future INTERKULTUR competitions upon request
Number of singers: unlimited
Singing time: maximum 15 minutes
Accompaniment: possible
Duration: 45 minutes
For competing choirs
- presentation of competition program the day before competitions begin
- performed before a panel of qualified international jurors who provide immediate positive artistic and pedagogical advice for improvement
- evaluation does not involve preliminary decisions regarding the competition result
Number of singers: according to category rules
Singing time: according to category rules
Accompaniment: according to category rules
Duration: 45 minutes
Individual Coaching
- one piece of the choir’s own choice
- with an international choral expert for stimulating artistic ideas and interpretive guidance
- for an effective rehearsal, choirs must prepare one piece in advance
Number of singers: unlimited
Singing time: 45 minutes rehearsal session
Accompaniment: possible
Participating choirs may register to perform together with other international choirs. Choirs must prepare approximately 20 minutes of their own music pre-approved by the artistic committee. The concert should be preferably a cappella or with own instruments (Piano or E-Piano can be provided upon request.)
Please be aware that several friendship concerts are planned open air. In the event that weather conditions do not allow this, some concerts may be cancelled due to the weather. The organizers will try to manage alternatives but choirs do not have any legal claim to this.
Choirs can also take part in Friendship Concerts ONLY (Non-competitive Festival Participation).
"First of all I have to send my greatest thanks and appreciations. I am so grateful for everything and all the efforts you did for us and also your heart warming encounter, which I never forget."
Registration Information
This event lies in the past!
You are interested in participating in this event series? Then have a look right now at our overview, which provides information about when the event will be held the next time. There you can also find further dates and destinations of our events taking place worldwide.
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Festivals, Choir Competitions, Sing Along Projects: Learn more about special performance opportunities with the free INTERKULTUR newsletter.
Event Details
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
- Arrival
- Rehearsals and stage rehearsals
- Evaluation Performances
- Concerts and performances in Chiang Mai and surrounding area
- Evening: Opening Event
- Sightseeing & excursions*
Thursday, October 20, 2016
- Rehearsals and stage rehearsals
- Evaluation Performances
- Concerts and performances in Chiang Mai and surrounding area
- The Competitions: All day
- Sightseeing & excursions*
Friday, October 21, 2016
- Rehearsals and stage rehearsals
- Evaluation Performances
- Individual Coachings
- Concerts and performances in Chiang Mai and surrounding area
- The Competitions: All day
- Sightseeing & excursions*
Saturday, October 22, 2016
- Rehearsals and stage rehearsals
- Evaluation Performances
- Concerts and performances in Chiang Mai and surrounding area
- The Competitions: Morning and Afternoon
- Evening: Grand Prize Competition
- Sightseeing & excursions*
Sunday, October 23, 2016
- Morning: Award Ceremony & Closing Event
- Departure
- Sightseeing & excursions*
depending on the individual schedule
Subject to change!
If you are interested in individual excursions please send an email to travel(at)interkultur.com.
CMECC – Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Center
Address: 456 Moo 1 Chang Puak Mueang, 50300 Chiang Mai
Opening Ceremony, Closing & Award Ceremony
Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Center (CMECC) is the largest convention and exhibition building in Thailand outside Bangkok. With over 52 hectares it offers plenty of space for all kind of national and international events. The „Exhibition Hall“ has seats for up to 10,000 visitors and is equipped with the latest technical features.
Photos: City of Chiang Mai
Payap University – Leviticus Auditorium
Address: Super Highway Road, 50000 Chiang Mai
Competition performances in categories Children’s and Youth Choirs; Mixed, Male and Female Choirs
Payap University is a private institution established in 1974 and founded by the Church of Christ in Thailand. In its early years, Payap College operated in borrowed facilities. As Payap’s achievements continued to progress, facilities were expanded to accommodate the steady growth in the student body. Today, Payap University has an international student body with nearly 30 countries represented.
The University also serves as a venue for a diverse range of cultural activities, which creates opportunities for its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the local community to experience and interact with the diverse aspects of performing arts.
Leviticus Auditorium is located on the ground floor of the Law Building of Payap University, on the Mae Khao Main Campus. The Auditorium can seat an audience of 390 people. It is built to accommodate a wide spectrum of performance types and can also host all types and scales of either local and global events.
Photos: Payap University, City of Chiang Mai
Payap University – E.C. Cort Meeting Room
Address: Kaew Navarat Road, 50000 Chiang Mai
Competition performances in categories Folklore, Gospel & Spiritual
Payap University is a private institution established in 1974 and founded by the Church of Christ in Thailand. In its early years, Payap College operated in borrowed facilities. As Payap’s achievements continued to progress, facilities were expanded to accommodate the steady growth in the student body.
Today, Payap University has an international student body with nearly 30 countries represented. The University also serves as a venue for a diverse range of cultural activities, which creates opportunities for its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the local community to experience and interact with the diverse aspects of performing arts.The E.C. Cort Meeting Room is located on the 2nd floor of Somsawali Building at Payap University's Kaewnawarat Campus - a small campus situated in town where also the Faculty of Music is housed.
The hall can hold 500 visitors and has slope-tiered seating. It is mostly used for university activities such as student meetings, performances and other events.
Photos: Payap University, City of Chiang Mai
KAD Theater
Address: 21 Huy Kaew Road, Suthep Muang, 50200 Chiang Mai
Gala Concert, Grand Prize Concert
KAD Theater is the major feature of the KAD Performing Arts Centre. It is interconnected with the KAD Suan Kaew Shopping Centre, a cinema and the Lotus Hotel Pang Suan Kaew. The KAD Theatre serves as a venue for a variety of cultural activities as well as for accredited training in the performing arts.
KAD Theater can accomodate 1480 visitors and has been designed with modern equipment and facilities which meet the international standards required for full-scale musical and theater productions from around the world.
Photos: Kad Suan Kaew, City of Chiang Mai
Prof. Dr. Ralf Eisenbeiß
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.
Romāns Vanags
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.
Nelson Kwei (Singapore)
choral conductor, conservatorium lecturer, music arranger, adjudicator
- artistic director, “A Voyage of Songs”, “Jubilate, Festival of Choirs” and “Asia Cantate” International Choral Festival series
- executive member of the National Arts Council’s Advisory Board for Choral Development in Singapore and first Vice-Chairman of the Asian Youth Choir Council
- conductor of nine school-, college-, university- and semi-professional choirs in Singapore that won numerous national and international accolades
Suvaluk Liansi (Thailand)
Born in China in 1957, Suvalug Liansi was brought up in Thailand at an early age and began piano lessons at the age of six under Acharn Somboon Viriyasophon, Acharn Nat Yontararak and Acharn Piyabhand Sanitwong. She later obtained her A.T.C.L. and L.T.C.L. in piano examination from Trinity College of Music while still in Bangkok, after which she started to conduct local church choirs.
In 1986 she moved to New York, and while furthering her music education at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, she joined the Westminster Symphonic Choir under the baton of world famous conductors Leonard Bernstein, Riccardo Muti and Kurt Masur and performed religious works such as Bach’s Mass in B minor, Britten’s War Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in A minor, and Verdi’s Requiem. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she obtained her Master’s Degree in Music (MM) in Church Music, majoring Conducting, Organ and Piano.
Since her return to Bangkok in 1996, Liansi has been giving private piano lessons and served as Church Music Minister at the Second Church of Sam Yan. Suvalug Liansi is also member of the Executive Committee of Thailand Choral Association, lecturer on Church Music and Choral Conducting at Christian University and internationally sought-after clinician and jury member.
Pawasut Piriyapongrat (Thailand)
Pawasut Jodi Piriyapongrat earned her bachelor's degree in Music Education with honors from Chulalongkorn University; Master of Music in Church Music; and Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, where she studied choral conducting with the late Dr. William Dehning.
Through her extensive choral experiences, including conducting Thai Youth Choir (2007-2009) and Chulalongkorn University Concert Choir (2007-present), and many collaborative works of the latter with professional Thai and international orchestras, Pawasut has earned her recognition as Thailand’s leading choral conductor, guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and choral educator with national and international engagements including in China, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and USA. She dedicates much time and energy in bettering choral standards in Thailand through her involvement with Thailand Ministry of Education and initiatives with Chulalongkorn University that include various workshops, an annual choral festival, and choral camps for university choirs in Thailand. Some of her initiatives were in collaboration with American Choral Directors Association.
She is a full-time faculty member of Music Education Department, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, and serves as President of Thailand Choral Conductors Association.
Tove Ramlo-Ystad (Norway)
Tove Ramlo-Ystad is an educated singer and conductor with a Master Degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. Her teachers and mentors in conducting have been Stefan Sköld, Anders Eby and Mogens Dahl.
Tove is one of Norway's most acknowledged choir conductors. She is a popular and inspiring guest conductor, and is frequently invited as an adjudicator in international choir competitions. Tove is representing Norway in The World Choir Council. Since 2015 she has been the artistic director of The Norwegian National Championship for Choirs.
Ramlo-Ystad has conducted both mixed and male choirs through the years, and has kept conducting the female choir Cantus since their beginning in 1986. Through Tove's leadership has Cantus received a lot of attention, won several competitions and has recorded 9 CD’s. The three last recordings got a Grammy nomination. Cantus is known by their Nordic sound. This sound was the reason Disney discovered Cantus, and led to the choir being asked to sing in their animation movie 'Frozen' 1 and 2. Several of the works commissioned for Cantus through the years have become an inspiration for many other female choirs around the world.
Tove Ramlo-Ystad is music director for the Norwegian Choral Association.
Aida Swenson (Indonesia)
Aida Swenson is one of Indonesia‘s strongest forces of choral music development. A founder and conductor of the Indonesian Children‘s & Youth Choirs- Cordana, who have gathered international recognitions and awards, and have been invited to perform in major cities worldwide.
As a graduate of the Westminster Choir College, Princeton, USA and as a sought after clinician, Aida Swenson conducts numerous workshops and adjudicates national and international events. Her activities as a juror includes in: USA, England, Germany, Vietnam and Singapore.
Aida Swenson has spent many years traveling throughout Indonesia creating and leading choirs, giving masters classes, and training choral conductors. However, her professional endeavors are largely but not limited to her choral clinician activities. Her professional activities include: Council Member of the World Choir Games for Indonesia; Member of the Advisory to INTERKULTUR‘s World Choir Games; Chairman of the Foundation for the Development of Choral Music in Indonesia; Member of Advisory of the Foundation of Church Music; Member of Artistic team of Polyfollia World Showcase; Member of the committee APCS-IFCM; Artistic Director of National Christian Universities Choir Competition in Indonesia.
Aida Swenson is featured in the “World Who is Who in Choral Music”. Her personal commitment to her musical endeavors in Indonesia is not only centered on her vision in furthering the quality of children‘s choral development. Aida is a pillar of change, of progression, and of energy to achieve unassailable quality in choral music in Indonesia and internationally.
Jun Wang (China)
After graduating from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Western Michigan University and Peabody Conservatory of Music majoring in conducting, Jun Wang worked as conductor at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh, at Xiamen Opera House and Hubei Opera House, with the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra as well as the China National Symphony Orchestra. Currently he is the Artistic Director of Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra Choir, Zhongshan Choir and Autumn Whispers Choir.
Wang is Vice Director of the Conducting Committee of the China Choral Association, Vice Chairman of Guangdong Choral Association and Chairman of Zhongshan Choral Association. Wang is a famous choral conductor in China and conducted the “China National Choir” based in Beijing which was ranked one of the best choirs in China. Under his direction many choirs won gold medals at national and international choral competitions including the World Choir Games in Guangzhou, Riga and Sochi and at several national choral competitions in China.
Axel Pfeiffer (Germany)
Axel Pfeiffer studied musicology and instrumental pedagogy with a major in piano in Gießen and Mainz, as well as choral conducting at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt. As a choral conductor, he has won numerous first prizes with his choirs at national and international choral competitions. Since 2008 he has been the organisational director and one of two conductors of the "Landesjugendchor Hessen", since April 2023 he has been conducting the choir alone.
Axel Pfeiffer was national choir director of the Hessian Choir Youth and chairman of the Federal Music Committee of the Hessian Singers' Association. He taught music theory, choral voice training and rehearsal at the Frankfurt Choral Conducting School and, as head of the Marburg Choral Conducting School of the Hessian Singers' Association, the subjects of conducting, rehearsal and choral voice training. He teaches in seminars and advanced training courses and is regularly engaged as a critic and juror.
In 2009 Axel Pfeiffer founded the choir Cantamus Gießen. Since then, he has won numerous first prizes with this ensemble at competitions, including winning the Hessian Choir Competition in 2013, 2017 and 2022 and the highest score of the day of all participating choirs at the national choir competition at the Harmonie Festival in 2017.
Christo Burger (South Africa)
Christo is regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost conductors and clinicians of choral music. Some of his accolades include: AKUSTIKA Chamber Singers winning the Pavarotti trophy and the title “Choir of the World” at the annual Llangollen Eisteddfod in Wales (2008); the grand prize at the Concorso Chorale Internazionale Riva del Garda competition in Italy (2010); and winning 5 gold medals at the World Choir Games held in Tshwane (2018). The choir was also crowned the World Champions of the Sacred A Cappella category. According to the Interkultur world ranking list, AKUSTIKA is currently ranked the 2nd best mixed choir in the world. Christo has also been the conductor of the award-winning University of Pretoria Jacaranda Children’s Choir since January 2015. Christo is the founder of Capital Singers.
Châu Anh Đặng (Vietnam)
Dang Chau Anh received her master degree in choral conducting and music education at the Vietnam National Academy of Music and Malmo Academy of Music (Sweden).
She is head of conducting subject in Vietnam National Academy of music and a member of the International Society for Music Education. She is the World Choir Council representative of Vietnam.
Dang Chau Anh has worked 20 years as chorus master, artistic director and conductor for children choirs, choir of vocal faculty, musicology- composing- conducting faculty of Vietnam National Academy of music, Vietnam SolArt and Hanoi International School. She is known as a pioneer in the field of choir and music education in Vietnam.
Together with the Vietnam SolArt Choir she attended many events and festivals of Vietnam television as well as in the role of an artistic director, she led the choir to many titles in competition such as: Gold Medal, Audience Prize and Best Performance in International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival in Wernigerode, Germany.For several years she was guest conductor in Children of the World in Harmony and The Voices Without Border in Petoskey, USA.
She is a frequent juror at choir competitions, such as the Vietnam International Choir Competition, in the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Spain among others. Dang Chau Anh is also well-known by Vietnam Television audience as M.C, Music expert, Jury of many music programs and competitions on Vietnam Broadcasting System over the whole country.
John August Pamintuan (Philippines)
Composer, conductor
- Winner of composition prizes from Tokyo, Japan and Tours, France
- Writer of approximately 300 commissioned works for choirs around the world
- Featured composer at JCDA Tokyo 2012 and and 2013 in South Africa, Japan, Indonesia and Croatia
- Jury member in Takarazuka (Japan), Cro Patria Split (Croatia), Rimini (Italy) and the IFCM Composition Contest in 2012
INTERKULTUR
in cooperation with
Chiang Mai Province
Tourism Council of Thailand (Region 1)
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
supported by
Thailand Choral Association
President INTERKULTUR
Günter Titsch (Germany)
Honorary Artistic Chairperson
Dr. Khunying Malaival Boonyaratavej (Thailand)
Artistic Committee
Prof. Dr. Ralf Eisenbeiß (Germany), Senior Artistic Director
Dr. Kittiporn Tantrarungroj (Thailand)
Assoc. Prof. Romāns Vanags (Latvia)
International Organizing Committee
Ella Schmiede (Germany), Project Coordinator
Zsuzsanna Lahmeyer (Hungary/Germany), Touristic Coordinator
Thomas Schüle (Germany)
INTERKULTUR Executive Committee
Günter Titsch (Germany)
Qin Wang (China)
Stefan Bohländer (Germany)
Dr. Christoph Wirtz (Germany), Secretary General
Organizer is the INTERKULTUR Management GmbH.
Program Book
Participating Groups
We are happy to welcome 55 choirs from 7 nations to the Lanna International Choir Competition!
Best of Lanna International Choir Competition 2016
Avis de confidentialité
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AccepterDESTINATION
The well-known city idyllically located on the bank of the river Ping features unique scenic beauty as well as distinctive cultural-historical monuments.
Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 by king Mengrai as the capital of the kingdom Lanna and looks back on a long history. This becomes evident in the everyday life of the inhabitants whose dialect, traditions and culinary characteristics have been preserved. Furthermore one can discover a multitude of fascinating historical temples built in the Northern Thai style and which show attention to architectural details. Chiang Mai is also traditionally the centre of craftsmanship where one can marvel at artful products made from silk, wood, silver and ceramic. The huge night market in Chiang Mai, the Night Bazaar, additionally offers every evening an unbelievable selection of clothes, souvenirs and decoration.
Outside the capital the province of Chiang Mai stretches out over more than 20.000 km2 and includes some of the most picturesque landscapes of the whole Thai kingdom. The fertile Ping valley with its paddy fields is surrounded by mountain ranges and the whole province is rich in wooded hills, jungle areas and rivers. The traditional villages of the resident hill people with their colourful traditional costumes and their lifestyle mostly untouched by modern civilization give this region its individual profile.
source: www.thailandtourismus.de
Competition Results
We congratulate all singers to their great results! All in all 39 golden, 33 silver and 2 bronze diplomas were awarded. Many thanks to all choirs and ensembles for participating!
Results(309 KB)