As the largest and most influential international choral art event in China and the Asia-Pacific region, the China International Chorus Festival will gather top choral groups from all over the world on July every year. Featuring the opening ceremony, high-level concerts, masterclasses (workshops), choral public welfare initiatives, and a host of other diverse and vibrant events, it serves as the premier platform for choral enthusiasts to exchange expertise and showcase their talents.
With immense joy and honor, we are delighted to officially introduce the lineup of Honored Guest Choirs for the 2026 Festival. (Sorted by the English alphabetical order of countries/regions）
Let us meet in Beijing, and listen to the songs of the world!
National Boys Choir of Australia, Australia
Founded in 1964, the National Boys Choir of Australia has established itself as one of Australia’s finest treble choirs.
Choristers are trained in vocal production based on the traditional European bel canto style. The level of commitment and self-discipline expected of the choristers is very high, as they are required to attend weekly or twice-weekly rehearsals and regular music workshops. This training enables boys to present challenging repertoire with repertoire ranging from early motets through to contemporary commissioned works and fully staged children’s operas, as well as musical comedy, art songs and folk songs from many lands, in regular concerts and local and international tours. In 2020, the Young Men’s Choir (YMC) was formed as an opportunity for boys to continue singing with the Choir after voice change.
The Choir is regularly called on to perform with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera, in such works as Orff Carmina Burana, Mahler Third and Eighth Symphonies, Humperdinck Hansel & Gretel, Stravinsky Perséphone, Bach St Matthew Passion and Britten War Requiem. Conductors have included Sir Andrew Davis, Graham Abbott, Nicholas Braithwaite, Oleg Caetani, Richard Gill, Phillipe Herreweghe, Neeme Järvi, Markus Stenz, and Yan Pascal Tortelier. The Choir has also performed at many civic events, including the Melbourne Grand Prix and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The Choir is also well-known for its participation in the annual Vision Australia Carols by Candlelight for nearly 40 years, and for a series of advertisements for Qantas Airways.
The Hesse Youth Choir (LJCH), Germany
The Hesse Youth Choir (LJCH) was initiated by the Hesse state government in 2008. Since then, it has brought together outstanding young singers from all over the state, aged between 16 and 27. The choir has over 80 members, all selected through public and regular competitions across the state.
Concerts in Hesse usually take place at the Limburg Archbishop's Cathedral, the HR Radio Concert Hall, the Frankfurt Paul Church, and the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden. The choir also frequently participates in international cultural exchange and cooperation projects. In recent important performances, the choir performed Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" and Haydn's "The Creation" choral symphony.
Since April 2023, Axel Pfeiffer has taken on the role of artistic director of the Hessen Youth Choir. Prior to this, he led the choir together with Jürgen Faßbender. Additionally, the choir frequently collaborates with guest conductors from both domestic and international sources, such as Oskar Egle from Austria, Justin Doyle from the UK, Maud Hamon-Loisance from France, Robert Sund from Sweden, Anne Kohler from Germany, and Franz Herzog from Austria.
Personal vocal training courses will be provided for each work stage. Since the establishment of the choir, two vocal teachers - Prof. Katharina Kutsch and Claudia Ramroth - have been continuously contributing to the development of the members' voices. Since 2021, they have also received support from additional rotating vocal teachers.
The choir's first concert tour was to Forralberg, Austria in 2010, and in 2015, it visited the friendly region of Hesse - the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. In 2023, to celebrate its 15th anniversary, the choir collaborated with the Hesse Youth Orchestra to perform Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". In 2024, it also collaborated with the Hesse Youth Symphony Orchestra and performed Joseph Haydn's "The Creation" at the Weilburg Court Music Festival.
The Girls' Choir of the Marczibányi tér Kodály School, Hungary
For decades, the Girls’ Choir of the Marczibányi tér Kodály School has stood as one of the brightest jewels of Hungarian choral life, a radiant ensemble whose voice embodies both national heritage and international artistry. Their sound—pure, unified, and refined—has often been praised by professional juries as a crystalline unity of voices, as if one soul were speaking through many. Every performance affirms the timeless truth that music is not only art, but also a bridge between nations, carrying the power to inspire, connect, and transform.
In 2011, the choir was awarded the Junior Prima Award, Hungary’s highest honor for exceptionally talented young artists, a distinction that confirmed their place among the nation’s foremost cultural ambassadors. Since then, they have become a constant presence on both national and international stages, not merely as participants but often as winners. Their most recent triumph, a Gold Diploma at the International Choral Festival in Lucca, Italy (2023), was accompanied by praise for their immaculate stylistic refinement and expressive depth—qualities that set them apart as true representatives of Europe’s finest choral artistry.
Their historically faithful interpretations and artistic authenticity have inspired several contemporary Hungarian composers to dedicate new works specifically for their voices. With their numerous professional recordings, the ensemble has built a living archive that preserves tradition while embracing innovation, ensuring that their music reaches audiences far beyond the concert hall.
The Resonanz Children's Choir (TRCC), Indonesia
The Resonanz Children's Choir (TRCC) is a children's choir founded by Avip Priatna Mag. Art. in 2007. TRCC is a student group of The Resonanz Music Studio. In addition to developing the musical talents of its members, TRCC was established to inspire children to enjoy singing, cultivate courage, precision, patience, concentration, memory, social ethics, build self-confidence, foster social relationships with peers, and enhance creativity.
Here are the achievements of TRCC in recent years:
In 2014, TRCC won six awards: Overall Winner & Grand Prize at the 10th Cantemus International Choir Festival in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary; Golden Award for highest score, Best Performance for Zoltan Kodály's composition, Audience Award for audience choice, Sponsor Award from Lego, and Devi Fransisca received the Outstanding Conductor award.
In 2016, TRCC won two Grand Prix titles at the Claudio Monteverdi International Choral Festival and Competition in Venice, Italy, securing first place in the Children's and Youth Choir category.
In 2017, TRCC participated in two international competitions. The ensemble secured three titles: Grand Prize at the Musica Eterna Roma International Festival & Competition in Rome, Italy; First Prize in the Children’s Choir category; and First Prize in the Gospel and Spirituals category. Additionally, TRCC won three more awards: Grand Prize at the 49th Tolosa Choral Contest in Tolosa, Spain; First Prize in the Children’s Choir category; and Audience Favorite Award. These achievements demonstrate that Indonesian children's choirs achieved the highest scores among all participants of the 2017 Tolosa Choral Contest across all categories, including the chamber choir category, which featured nine adult choirs.
In 2018, TRCC successfully won the EGP 2018 Championship at the 30th European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (EGP) on April 21, 2018, in Maribor, Slovenia, making history as the first Indonesian choir to win Europe's oldest and most challenging choral competition.
Choir of the State Symphony Capella of Russia, Russia
Choir of the State Symphony Capella of Russia was founded by the conductor Valery Polansky in 1971. In 1975, the Capella won the International Competition "Guido d'Arezzo" (Italy), winning the Gold Medal in the category "academic singing" and "Golden Bell" - the symbol of the best choir of the contest. In 1980, the Choir took part in the cultural program of the Summer Olympics in Moscow. The fame of the collective went well beyond Russia: the choir was invited to different festivals such as ``Singing Wroclaw`` and ``Prague Autumn`` (Czech Republic). They performed in Merano (Italy) , Izmir (Turkey), Naarden (Holland); memorable participation was in the famous "Promenade Concerts" of Royal Albert Hall (Great Britain) and in historical cathedrals of France - in Bordeaux, Amiens, Albi. The choir was invited many times to a festival in Spoleto (Italy), where it took part in the performance of Prokofiev's opera ``War and Peace``, Wagner 's Lohengrin, and also performed Orff`s cantata ``Carmina Burana`` in Geneva. It constantly tours the USA, Hong Kong, Great Britain, Croatia, Slovenia, Belarus. Over the years, the Choir of the State Symphony Capella has sung almost all the masses, oratorios, requiems and other spiritual opuses of Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Liszt, Verdi, Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, Reger, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Schnittke. The noble, ideally balanced sounding and crystal-clear and precise intonation always distinguishes the choir of Valery Polyansky, for whom there are no unperformed music scores.
Somerville College Choir, University of Oxford, the United Kingdom
Somerville College Choir was founded in 2001, 6 years after the college went co-educational, the college having been founded in 1879 to allow Women to study at Oxford. The Choir is made up of 32 singers from Somerville College and the wider Oxford community. Consisting of choral scholars and volunteers, the choir meets twice weekly and is the only Oxford College Choir that sings primarily secular events.
Members of the Choir also sing in the National Youth Choir, the Rodolfus Choir, Gabrieli Roar, Genesis Sixteen, and Schola Cantorum of Oxford, and former members can be found at various music colleges, and as part of VOCES8. Recent highlights include workshops with Ben Parry (Former director of the National Youth Choir), the King’s Singers, Giles Underwood, Dame Emma Kirkby (an alumna of the college), and Rachel Nicholls, performances of Bach St John Passion and Mozart Requiem with the Instruments of Time and Truth, as well as a concert for refugees from Afghanistan with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, a gig with the Basin St Brawlers, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, and Handel Solomon with Imperial College Chamber Choir and the Oxford Baroque Players.
As well as numerous european tours, the choir was the first Oxford College Choir to tour to India engaging in outreach with multiple charities and performing three concerts to capacity audiences in Mumbai and Goa in 2018, revisiting the country in 2023 and additionally travelling to the USA in 2025.
The Portland State Chamber Choir, the Unites States
Classics Today calls The Portland State Chamber Choir “amongst the finest choirs in the world.” Since its founding in 1975, the Chamber Choir has performed and competed in venues across the country and around the world, earning over 30 medals and awards in international choir competitions including being the only American choir to have won the Seghizzi International Competition for Choral Singing in Italy in 2013, and the Bali International Choral Festival in Indonesia in 2017. They were a featured headline performing choir at the 2022 World Choral Exposition in Portugal.
The Chamber Choir records for Naxos, the largest Classical label in the world. Their 2012 album, A Drop in the Ocean was a finalist for the American Prize in Choral Music. Their 2014 recording Into Unknown Worlds, was named a “Recording to Die For” by Stereophile and was a finalist for the CARA Award for Best Classical Album. In 2015, the Chamber Choir’s recording of Sperry’s arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was the soundtrack for a short film that was commissioned by Pope Francis for his Moral Action on Climate Change rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Their 2017 album The Doors of Heaven debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart (a first for a University choir), and was also a #1 seller on Amazon and iTunes. Their 2020 album Translations was named Album of the Year in both Gramophone and Stereophile.
The Portland State Chamber Choir collaborates regularly with the Oregon Symphony performing Classical masterworks such as Handel’s Messiah, Mahler’s Symphony #2 “Resurrection”, and Beethoven’s Symphony #9, and even a fully staged production of Stravinsky’s Persephone directed by Michael Curry whose credits include The Lion King and Cirque du Soleil. In the summer of 2014, the Chamber Choir served as the chorus for the world premiere of the opera The Canticle of the Black Madonna by Ethan Gans-Morse. In 2015, members of all the choirs sang for the PICA Festival’s production of The Night Tripper, which involved singing Norwegian music in a park in the dark; joined a professional orchestras to perform Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses and Final Fantasy: Into Unknown Worlds; and became the North American Champions of Sangeeth Samraaj: The Carnatic Premiere League, an Indian reality television show similar to American Idol but devoted to the classical music of Southern India. D.C.
The UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, the United States
The UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, sponsored by the Department of Music, is the university’s premier concert choir. The chorus performs a cappella and choral-instrumental works and is particularly acclaimed for its readings of early and contemporary music. In 2009, it performed Handel’s L’Allegro with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2010-2011, it performed Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel with the Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio and James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words with the Berkeley Symphony under Joana Carneiro and works by Purcell under the direction of Matthew Oltman (emeritus director of Chanticleer). In 2012, the Chamber Chorus performed the Vaughan Williams Mass in G at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and Berg’s Wozzeck under Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen in Berkeley and in Los Angeles at Disney Hall.
In March, 2014, the chorus was one of three prestigious U.S. choirs to sing a concert of contemporary a cappella music at Carnegie Hall. In April 2015, it performed the Bach B minor Mass in Hertz Hall and choruses from John Adams, Death of KlinghoZer in Zellerbach Hall. In March 2019, in collaboration with Cal Performances, the chorus sang the world premiere of the oratorio Dreamers, music by Jimmy Lopez and libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz, along with the professional choral ensemble Volti and the London Philharmonia under Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen in both Zellerbach Hall and Bing Hall at Stanford University. The Chamber Chorus has also appeared in concert tours to the East Coast, Canada, and Europe. Its performances have been featured in broadcasts of the Voice of America, Public Radio International, and Austrian Radio. Critics from the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and Opera News alike have praised the chorus as “excellent,” “splendid,” “electric.” “The UC Chamber Chorus leaves no syllable unarticulated and no musical marvel unexplored” (San Francisco Examiner). Among Chamber Chorus recordings, its Handel Susannah on the harmonia mundi label won a Grand Prix du Disque. In 2022, Chamber Chorus won The American Prize in Choral Performance - college/university division (small program).
