Calicantus Choir

Calicantus Choir

The Calicantus Choir is the concert ensemble of the singing school of the same name, founded in 1993 by Maestro Mario Fontana. The school trains 150 students aged 4 to 18 in singing and performance practices from all eras. Calicantus has become an educational and artistic model internationally.
The repertoire spans from the Renaissance to the present day, with an interest in Eastern and Northern European music and international folklore.
Calicantus is regularly called upon to give premiere performances and collaborates with internationally renowned artists, the Swiss composer Ivo Antognini, Swiss Radio and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.
Calicantus represented Switzerland at the “World of Children’s Choirs” Festival in Canada in 2001 as well as in more than 150 tours across Europe.
He has won several awards, including first prize in Swiss competitions in which he participated, in 2005, 2007 and 2013. In 2008, he was named “The Biggest Joy in Copenhagen” at the 8th World Choral Music Symposium which was held in Copenhagen. In 2010, he won four first prizes at the prestigious Montreux international competition, with congratulations from the jury. In 2015 he participated in the international competition in Rimini, where he won first prize in the “equal voices” category and two silver medals in the “youth voices” and “popular music” categories. In 2018, in Prague, he won all the prizes in the categories Academic Music, Historical Music, Contemporary Music, Popular Music as well as the Grand Prize of the International Competition “Holiday of spring”. The same year she won first prize in the “youth choir” category and the Grand Prize at the international competition “Queen of the Adriatic Sea” in Cattolica, Italy.
On YouTube it is possible to view the 11 short documentaries which comprehensively describe the artistic and cultural activities of Calicantus over the last 30 years, as well as an extensive production of concerts and documentaries, including music videos on Queen .
The mission that drives the Calicantus Choir, in addition to the artistic and cultural development of young people, has translated from the earliest years into numerous charitable initiatives for the protection of children, notably with Médecins sans Frontières.

Mario Fontana, Director

Mario Fontana was born in Locarno in 1963 and devoted himself to music from his childhood as an autodidact. He then studied classical guitar and piano.
Graduated in music pedagogy in 1992 at the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland, he then studied choral conducting in the Czech Republic with masters Alois and Tomas Motyl, Milan Uherek and Dr. Olga Dutkova, and then with Eric Ericson, Pablo Colino, Pamela Cook, Zimfira Poloz, and at the Roy Hart Theater in London.
In 1993, he founded the Calicantus choir, which soon became an artistic and educational reference throughout the world. He has won several prizes in prestigious international competitions. In 2008 he was invited to the World Choral Music Symposium in Copenhagen, where Calicantus was acclaimed as “the biggest joy in Copenaghen”.

Over 30 years, he has developed a musical pedagogy which has become an international educational model. He has won several awards, including the Lamprecht-Steiger Choir Prize and the Best Choir Conductor Prize at the 2015 Rimini International Competition.

He is regularly invited as a speaker by Swiss and European institutions to present seminars on the methodology of singing for children and to participate as a member of the jury in Swiss and international choral competitions.

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