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 Théatre 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 Angelique Kidjo. With great difficulty, three contestants
were chosen to go through to the final: Fabio Giacalone from Italy, Arta Jekabsone
from Latvia and Erik Leuthauser from Germany.
Following a final set of performances, Jekabsone was announced as the winner, with
Leuthauser 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.wordpres
s.com
