Our student Lena Herber won 1st prize at the 2nd International Choral Conducting Competition, which took place from July 8 to 10, 2025 as part of the 43rd International Choral Festival in Preveza, Greece.
The prize is endowed with €1,000 and also includes a prestigious invitation to conduct the renowned Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir in the 2026/27 season.
In addition, Lena Herber was awarded the special prize for the best interpretation of romantic music.

From around 30 international applicants, 13 conductors were selected for the first and second rounds of the competition. In the high-caliber final, three candidates conducted the excellent KGBL Chamber Choir of the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in a public concert - Lena Herber was able to successfully assert herself in this demanding environment.

Lena Herber is currently studying for a Master's degree in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor's degree in Church Music at the University of Music Würzburg. She spent the academic year 2024/25 as part of an Erasmus scholarship at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Prior to this, she completed a degree programme in school music (majoring in conducting) at the Mannheim University of Music and a bachelor's programme in history teaching at the University of Mannheim.

From 2022 to 2024 she was musical assistant to the cathedral conductor at St. Kilian's Cathedral in Würzburg. She received formative impulses in master classes with Georg Grün, Florian Helgath and Wolfgang Schäfer as well as through collaboration with internationally renowned ensembles such as the Zürcher Sing-Akademie, VOCES8 and the Swedish Radio Choir. In 2022, she was awarded 3rd prize at the Marktoberdorf International Conducting Competition.

Congratulations on this important success!