THE CHOIR 

Lunds Studentsångare is a male voice choir founded in 1831. Despite its long history it has been able to maintain its desire to evolve over the years thanks to its professional and dedicated choir leaders. Today, the choir consists of 55 tenors and basses with different backgrounds, educations and occupations.

The choir is perhaps best known for the live broadcasted spring concert at Lund University House's stairs on 1 May. In addition to concerts in Lund and other parts of Sweden, the choir also collaborates annually with symphony orchestras and other choirs internationally.

The choir regularly goes on tours both nationally and internationally. Among other places, the choir has been to Finland, Norway, Spain, Ukraine, USA, China, and Australia. Our latest tour in 2023 included a visit to Colombia following an invitation from the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra.

THE HISTORY OF THE CHOIR

The Academic Society in Lund was founded in 1830 and according to regulations from 1831, its premises were to be used for music on certain evenings. On November 20th of that year, a male quartet appeared in concert in Lund for the first time, and this occasion is considered the birth of the choir.

In the 1830s, the choir had about 30 members under the direction of Otto Lindblad, and their repertoire consisted of contemporary German and Nordic songs, as well as, increasingly, works by Otto Lindblad himself. The Student Singers maintained a high standard and inspired the formation of singing associations in Copenhagen and Oslo.

The greatest influence in the latter half of the 19th century was Henrik Möller, the leader of the Student Singers from 1876 to 1885 and 1890 to 1891. Through a coup by the choir's younger singers, the then-young Möller replaced Carl Gustaf von Sydow in 1876 and initiated a direction towards greater artistic achievements according to the maxim of "sing less – practice more." Sydow's earlier attempts with an elite choir were resumed and carried out by Henrik Möller, who was thus able to undertake proper singing expeditions in 1878, 1882, and 1885. During these years, the issue of the premises was also resolved with the inauguration of a singing hall in 1881.

In 1891, Alfred Berg took over as leader, inaugurating the Student Singers' first golden age. The organization was improved, great importance was placed on rehearsals and auditions, and the Student Singers were considered Sweden's premier choir at that time. Numerous singing tours were undertaken, including to the Great Nordic Music Festival in Stockholm in 1897, the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904, and Germany in 1921.

Among the great leaders of the 20th century, Josef Hedar should also be mentioned, as he renewed the repertoire, not least through his own compositions, and in his role as cathedral music director gave sacred music greater prominence. Axel Melander took over in 1951, and the tradition of singing tours was resumed the following year. A Nordic choir festival was also held for the first time in Lund in June 1971.

Axel Melander was succeeded in the fall of 1971 by Folke Bohlin. During his first year, collaboration began with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, performing Brecht-Weill's "Das Berliner Requiem" and Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex." Folke Bohlin introduced theme concerts with premieres of newly written works, made recordings, and gave the choir the modern form it has today.

After Folke Bohlin, the choir's leaders have been Jan-Åke Larson, Bengt Hall, Mats Paulson, Thomas Chaplin, Michael Bojesen, Andreas Lönnqvist and Christian Schultze.