Excellence of sound and musical expression lie at the heart of the ethos of the Zürcher Sing-Akademie. Since its formation in 2011 the ensemble has achieved its place among the most renowned ensembles of Europe‘s professional choral scene, with a body of singers whose quality and presence never fail to inspire and impress.
Since the 2017-18 season, Florian Helgath has stood at the helm as Musical Director. There is no doubt that engagements with numerous outstanding musical directors such as Bernard Haitink, Pablo Heras-Casado, Giovanni Antonini, Paavo Järvi or René Jacobs have influenced the ensemble‘s development and flexibility.
Alongside its long-standing partnership with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Zürcher Sing-Akademie can be seen in the great European concert halls, performing a vast and varied repertoire in collaboration with many exceptional instrumental ensembles including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Kammerorchester Basel, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Hofkapelle München, the baroque orchestra La Scintilla and the Freiburger Barockorchester. Mit dem Freiburger Barockorchester ist der Chor regelmässig in grossen Konzerthäusern Europas zu Gast, etwa in der Philharmonie de Paris, der Kölner Philharmonie, der Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, in der Philharmonie Berlin und natürlich im Konzerthaus Freiburg.
The ensemble plays a prominent part in the promotion of Swiss composers, both historical and contemporary. With its a cappella projects the Zürcher Sing-Akademie also seeks to build bridges between more traditional repertoire and contemporary music. Mit ihren Programmen und regelmässigen Kompositionsaufträgen legt sie einen besonderen Fokus auf die Entwicklung der Schweizer Chorlandschaft. Central to its ethos is the continued development of the choral landscape: the Zürcher Sing-Akademie frequently commissions new works and has given many première performances.
Tours have taken the choir to Germany, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Taiwan, South Korea and China as well as various European capitals.
A thrilling palette of CD recordings spans an extraordinarily diverse repertory, from Swiss rarities across the vast canon of the symphonic greats, through to world of opera. Eine spannende Palette an CD-Einspielungen mit der Zürcher Sing-Akademie führt von Schweizer Raritäten über Sinfonische Klassik bis Oper. Recent releases on the Pentatone label include Joseph Haydn’s “Stabat Mater” with the Basel Chamber Orchestra under the direction of René Jacobs and the recordings of Felix Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Lobgesang” with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under the direction of Paavo Järvi on the Alpha label. To commemorate the anniversary of Frank Martin‘s death, the ensemble released a CD on the Swiss label Claves Records in Autumn 2024, that explores the gems of the choral folk tradition.