Jugendchor «jutz.ch», Switzerland
What makes the Swiss youth choir jutz.ch so exceptional is that its singers are as much at home in the world of classical music as they are in the world of yodelling. Its members come from fourteen different cantons and while half of them have a background in folk music, the other half is classically trained. What they all share is a fascination with traditional styles of singing. Originally founded as a project choir for the 2016 EJCF, jutz.ch is about to make its third appearance at the festival. Its CD recording “verquer” of 2019 was cut from live recordings of a concert project with the Lukas Gernet Quartet. Since 2021, jutz.ch has been led by the young choral conductors Anna Kölbener and Timo Waldmeier. Anna Kölbener, who grew up in Appenzell Ausserrhoden and has yodelled since childhood, is currently doing a master’s degree in choral conducting, while Timo Waldmeier is the choirmaster of several choirs in the Basel region as well as being active in a number of interdisciplinary mediation projects.