The SJC raises its profile
The Swiss Youth Choir is approaching its 25th season and wants to develop its identity and charisma even more specifically. The means and goals were presented at an event in Bern.
When it was founded almost a quarter of a century ago, the Swiss Youth Choir SJC was far and wide alone with its singers aged between 16 and 26 and its focus across cantonal and linguistic borders. In the meantime, however, a whole series of singing ensembles with young people have emerged, some of them also based on former SJC members. This development is very pleasing in itself, but forces the SJC to sharpen its profile in order to be perceived as a unique ensemble. To mark its 25th birthday, the choir has not only developed a new image (colors, logo, website), but has also revised its repertoire, management and casting principles.
Nicolas Fink, the artistic director, pointed out that it is better to develop repertoire slowly and over the long term in order to achieve consistently high quality, rather than having to perform pieces quickly in a seasonal operation. Fink, the choir's main conductor, is supported by two choir assistants and guest conductors for certain repertoire segments. In future, vacancies in the 50-strong choir will be filled with the participation of the respective register in order to strengthen cohesion.
The repertoire is to be steered even more consistently towards "Swissness": Swiss composers, Swiss folk songs, masterpieces of choral literature from popular and serious music. Young choral conductors from various regions will be involved in the 2019 anniversary production, a CD with Swiss folk songs: Marco Amherd, Daniela Beltraminelli, Christian Klucker, Dominique Tille and Fabien Voléry.
The fundraising lunch at the Du Nord restaurant in Bern featured two short presentations in addition to a few song delicacies from the choir. Myriam Schleiss, head of the "Cultural Participation" service at the Federal Office of Culture, which supports the SJC, spoke about the beneficial effect of singing together on language learning. John Holloway, violinist, conductor and teacher, who had been involved with the Swiss Youth Choir in rehearsing the Mozart Requiem, emphasized that only a few choir members aspire to a musical career, and that is a good thing. As a member of numerous juries, he knows that competitions produce performers who sell well at competitions. This is not the same as a musical and social experience.
