Musician from Ulm wins composition competition in Dresden

The church musician Gregor Simon from Ulm has won the first composition competition in the long history of the Dresden Boys' Choir. The 55-year-old was able to hold his own against more than 40 applicants, the boys' choir announced. The world premiere of the composition, which comes with prize money of 2,500 euros, is scheduled for October 26 in Dresden Cathedral.

Jury praises innovative work

The competition was for a mass entitled "Sing to the Lord a new song" - a mass divided into Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei with a maximum total length of twelve minutes for a choir of four to six voices. "Mr. Simon's work is convincing because it is innovative," explained Cathedral Conductor Christian Bonath. It is noticeable that the composer has engaged with the choirboys and the space of the cathedral.

Competition to be announced every three years

Since the founding of the Kapellknaben at the Saxon court in 1709, works have been composed for this ensemble time and again. Personalities such as Johann David Heinichen, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Adolph Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner performed with the boys' choir. However, there has never been a composition competition. The second prize went to the Vienna-based composer Johann Simon Kreuzpointner and a sponsorship prize to the Taiwanese composer Chiung-Wen Hsu. The competition will now be held every three years.