Ensemble Noctuor

Ensemble Noctuor- Switzerland

International Choir Competition in Provence 2025

The Noctuor ensemble is made up of eight friends from Fribourg and the surrounding area (in Switzerland) who share a common passion: choral art.

The group was formed in autumn 2016, during a competition dedicated to popular music organised by Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS). It made it all the way to the final by performing a complex piece for eight voices live. As the members of the octet had all played in large ensembles, this musical challenge proved to be extremely rewarding: each of them was able to gain in self-confidence as they had to take on their voices alone, while at the same time honing their listening skills to achieve musical balance. The experience, both technical and human, was such that the singers decided that the Noctuor adventure would not be short-lived.

Since then, the ensemble has performed in numerous private and public concerts. In particular, it has appeared on several occasions on RTS’s Kiosque à musiques programme, as well as at some of the most emblematic musical events in the canton of Fribourg.

And there’s no question of offering a monotonous repertoire. The singers are keen to experiment with different musical styles: negro spiritual, pop, French chanson and traditional Fribourg, Scottish and even Norwegian music are all on the programme!

Noctuor took part in a national competition for the first time in February 2024, at the Swiss Choir Competition. It came third in the ‘vocal ensembles’ category, with 21.3 points out of 25.

Antoine Krattinger- Conductor

Musical direction is provided by Antoine Krattinger, the ensemble’s tenor 2. A graduate of the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU) and a secondary school music teacher, he also arranges and composes customised songs for the octet. These include Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & The Papas, and a medley of music from the 2000s.

Antoine started piano lessons at the Conservatoire de Fribourg at the age of nine with Louis-Marc Crausaz.
At the same time, he developed an interest in computer-aided music and composed his first instrumental pieces.

In 2018, he founded the ‘Hasard Records’ label with the artist Lorage. Their joint album ‘Sauvage’, released in 2019, currently has more than 10 million listens on
streaming platforms.

Director of the Choeur des Guelins from 2017 to 2023, he conducts and sings with Ensemble Noctuor. An ensemble founded in 2016 by 8 friends, with which he distinguished himself by finishing in 3rd place in the ‘Vocal Ensemble’ category at the last Swiss Choir Competition in 2024.

In 2018, he co-founded and took over the artistic direction of the Cake O’ Phonie ensemble, made up of singers from French-speaking Switzerland. In 2024, this ensemble won the Swiss Choir Competition in the ‘Pop’ category and won a gold medal at the World Choral Cup in Barcelona in the ‘Vocal Ensemble’ category.

It was with his arrangements and this vocal ensemble that he took part in and won the the ‘Chorus’ programme produced by RTS in 2018. Following this victory, the group was given the chance to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Choir of The Year in Gothenburg in 2019.

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