Katja Kalmar
Katja Kalmar was born in Vienna and completed a concert performance degree in singing at the Joseph Haydn Private University of Music in Eisenstadt, as well as a Master’s degree in vocal pedagogy, specialising in piano, at the Joseph Haydn Private University of Music in Eisenstadt and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under MMMag. Alexander Josef Mayr.
She supplemented her vocal training with masterclasses with, amongst others, KS Bernarda Fink, Claudia Visca, Walter Moore and Eduard Kutrowatz. In the field of choral conducting, she gained valuable insights during a masterclass with Johannes Prinz. In 2024, she successfully completed the ‘chor.leiten.bravura’ course run by Chorszene Niederösterreich under the direction of Prof. Erwin Ortner.
As a singer, Katja Kalmar has appeared in several opera productions. At Esterházy Palace and the Eisenstadt Cultural Centre, she played Susanna in *Le nozze di Figaro* and Fiordiligi in *Così fan tutte* by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as Vespetta in Telemann’s *Pimpinone*. Recitals have taken her to venues including the Haydnhaus in Eisenstadt, where she took part in a concert to mark the restoration of Joseph Haydn’s original hammer piano.
Her career as a choir director began in 2012 with the founding of the choir d’accord wien, of which she has been the artistic director ever since. In 2022, the choir was awarded the ‘Choir Project of the Year’ prize by the Chorforum Wien for a programme featuring works exclusively by female composers. Other artistic highlights in the choir’s development have included performances of Verdi’s Requiem at the Musikverein (2019) and Bach’s Mass in B minor at the Vienna Konzerthaus (2022), as well as successful participation in various choral competitions.
In 2022, Katja Kalmar was appointed to lead the long-established children’s choir, the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen. Under her guidance, the choir was able to regroup following a pandemic-related hiatus and build on its past successes. Highlights of recent years have included performances at the Vienna Festival (Exodus), at the Bühne Baden (La Bohème, Tosca), at the Theater an der Wien (The Heartless Giant, Alice in Wonderland), at the Grafenegg Auditorium (St Matthew Passion), at the Salzburg Mozarteum (Austria Sings Again) and at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8.
Alongside her artistic work, Katja Kalmar is also active in continuing professional development in music education. She regularly leads workshops and seminars for the Chorforum Wien on topics such as children’s voice training, conducting and choral voice training. Since spring 2025, she has also been a lecturer for the ‘Chor.leiten’ choral conducting courses organised by Chorszene Niederösterreich. As the regional youth representative for Chorforum Wien, she is particularly committed to promoting the children’s and youth choral scene in Austria. In 2025, Katja Kalmar was awarded the Erwin Ortner Fund Prize for the Promotion of Choral Music.