Allmänna Sången

Allmänna Sången from Uppsala is one of Sweden's leading choirs.
The choir recently received proof of this at the International Choral Competition Gallus in Maribor, Slovenia. Prior to that, the choir won the European Grand Prix 2005, Europe's premier choral competition. These wins have resonated in Music Sweden and established Allmänna Sången as one of the leading mixed ensembles in the country. This means that the choir has taken titles in every international competition it has entered since 1992.

Allmänna Sången is an attractive collaboration partner for the country's top musicians. In recent years, artists such as Peter Mattei, Karl-Magnus Fredriksson, Kroumata and Magnus Lindgren have collaborated with the choir on stage and on disc.

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From male choir to mixed choir

Allmänna Sången is Scandinavia's oldest academic choir, founded in 1830 as a male choir. In its early years, the choir laid the foundation for many student traditions that are still alive today in Uppsala. In 1963, Allmänna Sången was reorganised from a male choir to a mixed ensemble. Today, the formal link to the university is gone, although the choir still cultivates the academic traditions it founded. As an example, Swedish radio listeners have for years been able to hear spring songs from the Gunilla bell at Uppsala Castle with Allmänna Sången on Walpurgis Night.

 

The choir's repertoire is broad and firmly rooted in art music, from the Renaissance to the present, but it is also not afraid to venture into new genres, such as big band jazz in Nordic Big Band Inferno 2016. The choir often premieres newly written music, and in recent years has highlighted music by contemporary female composers, resulting in the album Femina Moderna (2016) and the Allmänna Sången and Anders Wall Composition Award. The choir's sound has a youthful freshness that reflects its rather low average age, while still maintaining a high level of professionalism. Uppsala's rich musical life and choral tradition has long been a strong recruitment base and talented singers join the choir every year.

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In recent years, Allmänna Sången has made many appearances abroad, often by invitation due to its good reputation. In October 2011, Allmänna Sången recorded the soundtrack for the Chinese blockbuster film 'The Flowers of War' and toured China in September 2012. In 2014, the choir was invited to travel to Moscow, where it gave concerts at the Historical Museum on Red Square and in the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 2016, the choir traveled to Namur in Belgium with a delegation from Uppsala to participate in the regional festival Fêtes de Wallonie.

At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Allmänna Sången, together with Anders Widmark, won a Grammy in the category "Classical of the Year" for the album Resonanser.

 

In January 2010, Maria Goundorina took over as Allmänna Sången's vocal leader from Cecilia Rydinger. 

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The protection of the Crown Princess

The protector of Allmänna Sången is HRH Crown Princess Victoria. The choir was informed of this delightful news on March 12, 2005 - Victoria's name day - when the choir was shown a letter addressed to Allmänna Sångens then honorary chairman Professor Bo Sundqvist, now rector emeritus of Uppsala University.