Between July 2 and 5, Debrecen will once again become the global hub of international choral singing. Celebrating its milestone 30th edition this year, the Béla Bartók International Choral Competition (BBCC) welcomes the world’s finest choirs in the spirit of tradition and renewal.
The position of president of this anniversary edition’s international jury is held by German professor Georg Grün, one of the most highly acclaimed authorities in contemporary choral music.
Georg Grün is considered one of the most outstanding and sought-after experts in the international choral scene. In 1990, he founded the Saarbrücken Chamber Choir (KammerChor Saarbrücken), serving as its artistic director ever since, and he is also responsible for the artistic direction of the Saarbrücken Bach Choir (BachChor Saarbrücken).
Between 2000 and 2013, he was a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim, and since 2012, he has been teaching at the Saar University of Music (Hochschule für Musik Saar). In 2015, he established the internationally highly successful “HfM Summer School,” a summer academy for choral conductors held every September at the Saarbrücken university. Since 2010, he has also served as a mentor for the conductors’ forum of the German Music Council.
The world of competitions is well-known to him; between 2015 and 2019, he was the chairman of the jury at the prestigious International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf (ICCC). Since 2022, he has been directing its associated International Masterclass for Choral Conductors, and in 2025, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Marktoberdorf Festival.
In addition to his work as a choral conductor, he has been a member of the Daarler Vocal Consort since 2008. He regularly records CDs, and over the past three years, his work as a guest conductor, jury member, and professor has taken him across Europe, as well as to China, Japan, Taiwan, and the USA.
The jury led by Georg Grün includes other distinguished figures from the international music community, such as:
- Zsuzsanna Gráf, Liszt Ferenc Prize-winning conductor, Meritorious and Eminent Artist of Hungary;
- Tristan Caliston Ignacio, conductor of the grand prize-winning choir of the previous 2024 Bartók Competition;
- Csaba Somos, Liszt Ferenc Prize-winning conductor, chorus master of the Hungarian National Choir;
- Philippos Tsalahouris, composer and director of the Athens Conservatoire.
According to the president of the jury, the competition in Debrecen represents a unique professional challenge on a global scale:
“The focus on contemporary a cappella choral music demands exceptional motivation for intensive rehearsal processes, as well as an open-minded approach toward new sounds and creative perspectives. This concept has been successful worldwide since 1961—congratulations on this excellent work, which must absolutely be continued!” he stated.
Selected from an exceptionally high number of applicants, the eleven elite choirs will take the Debrecen audience on a true journey around the world. Choirs are arriving from the USA, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Germany, and Latvia. Hungary will be represented in the field by three outstanding ensembles: the Béla Bartók Women’s Choir, the Zoltán Kodály Youth Mixed Choir, and the Vántus Boys’ Choir.
All rounds of the 30th Béla Bartók International Choral Competition will be open to the public. The programs, which are further enriched by world premieres of contemporary Hungarian composers (Máté Balogh, Márton Levente Horváth, Katalin Szalai, and Péter Zombola), will also be available to follow online.