Gallus International Choral Competition 2025
From October 17 to 19, eight vocal ensembles will compete in the Union Hall in Maribor. The Gallus – Maribor International Choral Competition ranks among the most demanding in Europe, with its winners going on to compete for the prestigious Grand Prix the following year.
The 2025 winner will qualify for the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, which will take place in Maribor on April 18, 2026 — returning to the city after eight years. Other contenders will include the winners of competitions held in Arezzo, Debrecen, Jūrmala, Tolosa, and Varna.
Held biennially in Maribor for over 30 years, the competition this year will feature eight ensembles: six mixed choirs, one male choir, and one vocal group from Europe and Asia. Slovenia will be represented by two ensembles — the Tone Tomšič Academic Choir of the University of Ljubljana, conducted by Rahela Durič (already qualified for the 2026 Grand Prix after their recent win in Jūrmala), and the St. Nicholas Choir from Litija, conducted by Helena Fojkar Zupančič — both internationally acclaimed.
The performances will be evaluated by a five-member international jury chaired by Slovenian conductor and creator of music-theatre projects Karmina Šilec. The jury also includes:
– Ban Sheng Toh (Singapore) – one of Asia’s leading conductors, leader of The Raffles Singers, and a multiple award-winning artist;
– Michael Joseph Barret (South Africa) – longtime conductor of the University of Pretoria’s Camerata (TUKS), composer, and music publicist;
– Mikael Wedar (Sweden) – conductor of the internationally acclaimed St. Jacobs Vokalensemble, winner of the 2014 European Grand Prix;
– Petra Grassi (Italy/Slovenian minority) – professor of choral conducting in Trento and the youngest-ever conductor of the Italian National Youth Choir.
The selected ensembles will first appear at a non-competitive opening concert on Friday, October 17, at 7 p.m. Audiences can expect a vivid evening filled with the colors and sounds of folk musicfrom Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Sweden, Slovenia, Indonesia, and — for the first time — Singapore. The competition performances will follow on Saturday, October 18, starting at 10:30 a.m. with the compulsory program and continuing at 4:30 p.m. with the free-choice program.
The detailed program of participating choirs is available at the link.