Academy
Programme of Excellency for Early Music
Description, Application Info
Academy Season 5
July 26th – August 16th, 2026
Concerts 2025
Information
Faculty 2026
CVs
Programme of Excellency for Early Music
In cooperation with Hochschule für Musik Mainz and Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz Barock Vokal Akademie offers a unique programme for specialization on the field of Early Music, addressing advanced young singers.
The Barock Vokal Akademie would be pleased to welcome young singers – ideally not older than 30 years of age– whose level of vocal education allows them to deal with matters of stylistic inter-pretation and performance as young professionals. We would like to support young professional singers to develop their skills and introduce them members of the Early Music network. Musical inquisitiveness, enthusiasm and openness to repertoire offside the beaten tracks is being appreciated.
From around 1600 until well into the 18th century vocal music is based on the so called basso continuo. The singers’ focus on chamber music and their desire for (textual) expressivity gave way to vanity and the lust for excessive use of vocal embellishment and agility at the beginning of the 18th century. However, drama and virtuosity of late baroque and classical music couldn’t have developed without the profound understanding of vocal chamber music and soloistic ensemble singing.
This is our motivation to dedicate the work at BVA to arias from the 18th century and from the early baroque period, to the so-called main repertoire and lesser known pieces in German, Italian and French. We wish to offer insight in special aspects and general principles of baroque performance practice and how to use that knowledge practically. And maybe we can also kindle our participants’ curiosity to dive into the wonderful world of unpublished repertoire.
Information
Details to know
Dates: 26.7.-16.8.2026
Venue: Hochschule für Musik, Mainz, Jakob-Welder Weg 28, D-55128 Mainz
Fee: 900,- €
3 Concerts
Presence for all 3 weeks required.
Who can apply?
Who?
Barock Vokal Akademie would be pleased to welcome young singers – ideally not older than 30 years of age– whose level of vocal and musical education allows them to deal with matters of stylistic interpretation and performance as young professionals. We would like to support young professional singers to develop their skills and introduce them members of the Early Music network. Musical inquisitiveness, enthusiasm and openness to repertoire off beaten tracks is being appreciated.
Selection procedure
Round 1
Submission of all application documents and a video as a YouTube link by 29 January 2026 (receipt by the BVA).
Application fee: €60
Round 2
Live auditions (mid-February; exact dates to follow)
Locations:
17.2.2026 Budapest
23.2.2026 Mainz, Hochschule für Musik
Auditions via live video upon request.
Application data
Please email the following documents to info@BarockVokalAkademie.de
1. application form (please fill it in)
2a. Link to an accessible video (uncut and unedited, max. 1 year old) with the repertoire for Round 1:
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1 sacred aria by Bach, Haydn, or Mozart (cantata, oratorio)
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1 aria from an opera by George Frideric Handel
2b. Repertoire for Round 2 (live audition):
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1 aria by Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (cantata, oratorio)
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1 aria from Giulio Cesare by George Frideric Handel (must be chosen from the repertoire list below)
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1 German or Italian secco recitative
(We recommend arias of differing character. Pieces performed in the preliminary round may be repeated in the live audition.)
3. Proof of payment of the application fee (€60)
Required arias
Please choose one aria from the list:
Cleopatra: Piangerò la sorte mia
Sesto: Svegliatemi nel core
Cornelia: Priva son
Cesare: Al lampo dell’armi
Tolomeo: L’empio sleale
Achilla: Dal fulgor
Tenors may choose one of the following arias:
Grimoaldo (from: Rodelinda): Tra sospetti
Oronte (from: Alcina): Un momento di contento
Contact information
| Bank | Deutsche Bundesbank Filiale Mainz |
| Kontoinhaber | Landeshochschulkasse Mainz |
| IBAN | DE25 5500 0000 0055 0015 11 |
| BIC | MARKDEF1550 |
| Verwendungszweck | 8500-10000-8787681 (Name, Vorname) |
Barock Vokal Akademie
an der Hochschule für Musik Mainz
Jakob-Welder-Weg 28
D-55128 Mainz
Important
Videos
Please ensure good sound and image quality in your recording and choose an appropriate recording location (not too far away, not too reverberant).
The recording must be recent (not older than one year).
The recording must be uncut and unedited.
The recording must be made accessible via a YouTube link.
!!! Videos of insufficient quality cannot be considered.
Auditions via live video stream
We recommend attending the live audition in Mainz, Berlin, or Budapest.
For auditions via video stream, please note that the quality of your stream must be very good. This is generally not the case with phone videos. During the singer’s pauses, the piano or harpsichord accompaniment is automatically raised, making it impossible to assess the voice. You are responsible for the quality of your stream.
Academy 26.7.-16.8.2026
Laudate
Sacred music by
Johann Georg Zechner (1716-1778) and Gregor Joseph Werner (1693-1766)
Early Classical music with princely splendor could be the title of the programme, for Zechner worked at times for the Habsburg Court and Werner for the Princes of Eszterházy. Their sacred music is at once sensitive and virtuoso – musically demanding and representative. The splendour of these compositions was meant to glorify the Lord God in magnificent fashion … but surely also to cast a a certain shine of magnificence on the composers’ noble employers.
In Arcadia
Vocal chamber music by
Giovanni Legrenzi (1626–1690) and his contemporaries
Giovanni Legrenzi’s 400th birthday is to be celebrated in 2026. This composer is rather unfamiliar to us today. However, a composer and Kapellmeister at St. Mark’s in Venice, a teacher at several ospedali in the same city, and through his numerous students – such as Francesco Gasparini, Antonio Caldara, and Antonio Vivaldi – he had a significant impact on the development of Italian Baroque music in the second half of the 17th century.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Giulio Cesare
The emperor of the Roman Empire and the Egyptian pharaoh, Caesar and Cleopatra – a love story full of intrigue, magic, beauty, lust for power, passion, and betrayal. It contains everything required for great drama. All that was missing was the ingenious music of George Frideric Handel to immortalize it in the musical Olympus.
Concerts 2025
Saturday, 2.8.2025
Bach & Family
Sacred music from Johann Sebastian and his relatives
Sunday, 10.8.2025
Scarlatti & Friends
Vocal chamber music from the two Scarlattis and their contemporaries
Sunday, 17.8.2025
Georg Friedrich Händel – Ariodante
Semi-staged presentation of the opera seria
Reservations for the concerts can be made via Eventbrite. The QR-codes (Also those on the posters) will lead You to the reservation pages at Eventbrite. Alternatively You may click the buttons below.
Please note that there is free access to our concerts and You are free to chose Your seat. Registration via Eventbrite is solely for organisational purposes (number of seats). Thank You for Your understanding!
BVA 2025 – Impressions
Header-K1-Probe-01
Header-K1-Konzert-03
K1-Probe-02
K1-Probe-03
Tutti-A+S-03
Tutti-A-Geb-01
Nel-01
Paul-01
Vymlátilová-01
vanVuuren
Mileto
Reimann-01
Aschehoug
Haufler-01
Händel-P-Felix
Emöke-01
BVA 2024 – Impressions
Veronika
Terzett
Song-24-01
Sarah
Lana
Kitty-2
Emilie
BVA2024-Probe-tutti
BVA 2023 – Impressions
Natalie Beck-01
Natalie Beck-02
Paula Meyer-01
Paula Müller-01
Header-Johanna Christmann-01
Header-Natalie Beck-01
Elena Müller-01
Johanna Christmann-01
Header-Tutti-01
Header-Changhoun Eo-01
Header-Clarisse Planchais-01
20230809_184708
20230809_184606
20230809_190153
Tutti-Lynne-02
20230816_104046
Goodwin-Robinne-01
Changhoun Eo-03
Rad-02
Rad-01
Neradt-Scholl-01
Eo-Jonsson-01
Eo-Shornik-01
20230816_151401
Goodwin-01
Lada Shornik-01
Liudmila Maytak-02
Faculty of Barock Vokal Akademie 2025
Prof. Dr. Karl Böhmer (musicology, Bach and Händel)
teaches at the HfM Mainz stylistics of the 18th century. His favourite research topics are the 18th century and Bach, Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti and Mozart as well as opera seria and oratorio. He has published two books (“Mozart in Mainz”, “Händel in Rom”) and various essays in congress reports and musicological journals.
>>Karl Böhmer
Daniele Boccaccio (harpsichord, language coach Italian)
works as harpsichordist, organ player and conductor. He performs as soloist as well as continuo player with chamber music groups and orchestras. And besides teaching, he edits musical manuscripts.
>>www.danieleboccaccio.it
Alessandro de Marchi (conductor; chamber music programme: Non solo io)
succeded René Jacobs as long-time director of the Innsbrucker Festwochen and founded the biggest singing competition for Baroque singing in Europe, the Cesti-competition. An internationally renowned conductor he is a regular guest at La Fenice, La Scala, Théatre de la Monnaie, all three Berlin opera houses et al. and works with the most distinguished orchestras, baroque and non-baroque.
>>www.alessandro-de-marchi.net
Paul Goodwin (conductor, Handel: Alcina)
Paul Goodwin started out as Baroque oboist, working with the leading Baroque orchestras, before turning to conducting. He is enjoying a distinguished career as conductor of Baroque bands and symphonic orchestras and has held positions as artistic director of prestigeous festivals like the Carmel Bach Festival. He also is a dedicated teacher and commits himself to educational programmes.
>>www.paulgoodwinconductor.com
Prof. Elisabeth Scholl (vocal coach, artistic director of BVA)
is a soprano with musicological background and specialization in Baroque singing. She has acquired expertise on the field of Baroque opera, oratorio and cantata throughout her extensive work with conductors and ensembles specialized in historic performance practice.
www.elisabethscholl.com
Markus Stein (harpsichord, chamber music, managing director of BVA)
teaches basso continuo at the HfM Mainz and is a sought-after accompanist for singers and chamber musicians, as well on the organ as on the harpsichord. He’s one of the relevant minds behind the telemann-project.
https://www.cembalist-markus-stein.de
List of faculty to be completed.
Contact
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