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Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 2016 - Finals: A review
Jazz singer, former Voice Competition winner and this year's Live-Blogger Sabine Kühlich talks to Arta Jekabsone, who has been elected winner of the …
Montreux / Switzerland,
Shure announces winner of Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 2016
Latvian Vocalist Arta Jekabsone Wins Prestigious Title At Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 2016
The Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition was established to nurture and promote talented young singers from all around the world. As sponsor of the competition since its inception in 2003, Shure is proud to announce the winners of the 2016 contest, the finals for which were held on July 9th in the Petit Théâtre at Montreux Palace during the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival. This year 164 entrants from all over the world took part, with 10 semi-finalists performing in Montreux before an international jury of singers, composers and journalists, presided over by Beninese singer/songwriter Angélique Kidjo. With great difficulty, three contestants were chosen to go through to the final: Fabio Giacalone from Italy, Arta Jekabsone from Latvia and Erik Leuthäuser from Germany.
Following a final set of performances, Jekabsone was announced as the winner, with Leuthäuser in second place, and Giacalone third.
A former violin student and graduate of the Riga Choir cathedral school in the Latvian capital, Jekabsone is currently studying on a scholarship at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. She tried to make her winning performance at the competition as personal as possible, as she explained in an interview straight after receiving first prize: "When I was thinking about the concept of what to sing, for me the first condition was: be yourself. I chose the songs where I felt a connection."
All three of the 2016 finalists will take home Shure products of their choice to a value of 2000 Euros each, along with other prizes.
Videos of the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition, including Jekabsone's winning performance, interviews and other highlights, can be seen at: https://shureatmontreux.wordpress.com
Videos: Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 2016
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