Eric Ericson Award

The Eric Ericson Award is the world's leading choral conductor competition for young conductors under 36 years old. The prize consists of 10 productions with the EBU's leading professional choirs and SEK 100,000 in prize money for the winner. Berwaldhallen – in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and with the support of the Rosenborg Gehrman Foundation and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – has re-established the international competition for young choral conductors, the Eric Ericson Award, which last took place in 2024.

The Eric Ericson Award 2024 was the fifth edition, aiming to identify, encourage, and support promising young choral conductors in the spirit of Eric Ericson. The prize strives to achieve a very high artistic and competitive level in choral conducting, corresponding to the status that Eric Ericson achieved worldwide during his active years. The Eric Ericson Award provides the next generation of choral conductors with the opportunity for an international career.

The Eric Ericson Award is organized by Sveriges Radio under the auspices of Berwaldhallen, and in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Music with the support of The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Märta Christina and Magnus Vahlquist Foundation, the Rosenborg Gehrman Foundation, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The competition is planned to be held every three years.

The Eric Ericson Award

The Eric Ericson Award was established on the initiative of Stefan Parkman at Uppsala University. The competition was then held in 2003, 2006, and 2009 by Uppsala University's Choral Centre, the Eric Ericson International Choral Centre, Sveriges Radio, and Rikskonserter, with prize money from the Eric Ericson Foundation.

Facts about the competition

The competition was revived in 2021 on the initiative of Berwaldhallen in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, with support from the Rosenborg-Gehrman Foundation and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This highly prestigious competition attracts young conductors from far beyond Sweden's borders, and the 2021 winner was Krista Audere from Latvia. Previous winners include Kjetil Almenning (2009), Martina Batič (2006), and Peter Dijkstra (2003).

The Eric Ericson Award is aimed at choral conductors who are not older than 35 years and who turn 36 no earlier than when the competition takes place in October 2024. The repertoire consists of Western art music, with an emphasis on contemporary Swedish choral music.

After the application period, a selection committee consisting of highly experienced choral conductors and choral educators will review the applications and select eight contestants to advance to the final round in Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. Mats Paulson, a lecturer in conducting at the Malmö Academy of Music, is the chairman of the selection committee. Other members include Mats Nilsson, Lone Larsen, Karin Oldgren, Christina Hörnell, Kari Turunen, and Simon Kim Phipps.

The winner of the Eric Ericson Award 2024 was chosen by a jury consisting of internationally renowned choral conductors and previous winners of the competition.

The jury chairman was Justin Doyle. The jury also included Kaspars Putniņš, Krista Audere, Erik Westberg, Martina Batič, Friederike Woebcken, and Sofia Niklasson, a member of the Swedish Radio Choir.

The winner will have the opportunity to work with several of Europe's leading radio choirs and will receive a prize of SEK 100,000, provided by the Rosenborg Gehrman Foundation. The two runners-up will each receive a scholarship of SEK 25,000.

When you hear this choir directed by three different people, and hear how it changes, then perhaps we realise there is more to it than just waving our arms about.

- Justin Doyle

Repertoire

The repertoire committee consists of Helene Stureborg, conductor and planning manager of the Swedish Radio Choir, Evabritt Selén, music librarian, and Lars Johansson Brissman, singer in the Swedish Radio Choir.

The repertoire is selected from the classical, romantic, and contemporary periods of Western art music. Swedish and Nordic music, in general, has a special role in the competition. The intention is to choose works of similar length, similar difficulty, and, above all, that contain inspiring challenges for the competing choral conductors; difficulties that also make it easier for the jury to make an assessment.