Sing along in the festival choir at Musica Sacra International

The Musica Sacra International festival will present high-quality music from the world's major religions and other cultures next year over Pentecost from May 22 to 26, 2026, in Marktoberdorf. Through music, this festival of encounters aims to make an important contribution to getting to know and understanding other cultures and religions, especially in today's world.

Singing brings people together! Experience Musica Sacra International up close as a singer in the festival choir. For the fourth time, all singing enthusiasts are invited to actively accompany and help shape the festival: sharing the joy of singing with others and discovering new things, combining leisure and further education, listening to and performing sacred music from several religions – all this awaits you.

The festival choir is conducted by Prof. Jan Schumacher (Germany), with the American choir “Brigham Young University Singers” from Provo, Utah, serving as the studio choir. Polish composer Zuzanna Koziej was commissioned especially for the festival to set a “Gayatri Mantra” to music. Compositions by Gerald Cohen, Goudimel, Ali Ufki, and Recep Gül will also be rehearsed. The festival choir's program will be premiered in the grand finale concert of Musica Sacra International together with the other choirs and ensembles.

Festival choir director Jan Schumacher (born 1980) has been university music director and honorary professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main since 2015, artistic director of the Frankfurt Singakademie since 2024, and conductor of Camerata Musica Limburg since 1999. With his ensembles, he has developed a broad repertoire ranging from Gregorian chant to world premieres and jazz, from symphonic orchestra to big band and vocal or electronic improvisation.

The studio choir for the festival choir is formed by the Brigham Young University Singers from the USA under the direction of Dr. Andrew Crane. The Brigham Young University Singers are a 40-member mixed choir with impressive voices and a wide variety of styles. Under the direction of Dr. Andrew Crane, the group performs pieces from almost all musical genres as well as many original works written or arranged especially for the choir.

Registration for the festival choir is now open online at https://www.musica-sacra-international.org/en/festival-choir.