Year 2023/24


Sina Günther

Mezzo-Soprano

Catalina Geyer

Mezzo-Soprano

Bruno Meichsner

Baritone

Wan-Yen Li

Piano

Lucas Huber Sierra

Piano

Aiko Bormann

Soprano

Michèle Bréant

Soprano

Luzia Ernst

Mezzo-Soprano

Anna Gebhardt

Piano

David Kennedy

Baritone

Leonie Paulus

Soprano

Maria Tilibtsev

Mezzo-Soprano


The first module of the Liedakademie 's 2023/24 cohort was launched in mid-October 2023. One of the highlights was the public master class with artistic director Thomas Hampson, in which a total of 12 young singers and pianists presented themselves to the Heidelberg audience for the first time. Musicality, technique, the historical context of the songs, and finding one's own expressiveness were all addressed here. The artists received great applause for their performance.

The second module took place in January. From January 22 to 28, the young scholarship holders were guests in the Schubert Week curated by Artistic Director Thomas Hampson at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. In two public workshops and the final workshop concert, they devoted themselves to the great Lied composer Franz Schubert in direct juxtaposition with Hugo Wolf, who is no less important for the Lied genre.

The final module at the Heidelberger Frühling Liedfestival in June 2024 marked both the end and the highlight of the year. The 12 scholarship holders took part in the public master classes with Artistic Director Thomas Hampson and pianist Susan Manoff and performed in the grand final concert, in which each of them performed a Brahms setting from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" as well as another Brahms song.



Elitsa Desseva
Official academy pianist, head of studies, program design and coach

Bulgarian pianist Elitsa Desseva specializes in collaborations with singers and is considered one of the leading song pianists of her generation. Under their guidance, the Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie focuses on innovative teamwork and creative development. The young scholarship holders can develop and elaborate their artistic vision in discussions about song art and networking.