Jonas Rasmussen (*1992) is the conductor of Academic Choir Aarhus, Youth Choir Aarhus U and Ensemble Novum. He also teaches classical choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus and is highly active as a composer, arranger and content creator.
As a conductor, he has received numerous international accolades with his choirs, including victories at the World Choral Championships, Let the Peoples Sing, and the European Choir Games, as well as most recently winning 1st prize at the 20th Gheorghe Dima International Music Competition for Conductors. He has also led several acclaimed album releases, including Efterklange – the complete choral works of Svend S. Schultz.
As a composer and arranger, Jonas has created works that are regularly performed by choirs across Denmark. His musical language balances tradition and innovation, with a strong sense of melodic beauty and harmonic richness. In 2025, ten of his hymn arrangements of melodies by Marianne Søgaard was published by Mixtur Publishing.
As a communicator and educator, Jonas is in high demand at workshops and courses throughout Denmark and abroad. On Instagram, Jonas has reached millions of viewers through short-form videos sharing warm-ups, rehearsal techniques, and conducting insights – offering accessible and engaging content for choir leaders and singers around the world. He also hosts the podcast Koryfæer, where he interviews composers, conductors, and singers about their passion for choral music.
Jonas holds degrees in choral conducting from the University of Cambridge, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus.
LATEST NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 24 August, 2026
-
-
Presenting at World Symposium on Choral Music
24 August, 2026 - 27 August, 2026
Macao
-
- 28 August, 2026
-
-
Presentations at the Conservatory of Shanghai
28 August, 2026 - 29 August, 2026
Shanghai Conservatory of Music （East Gate）, 20 Fen Yang Lu, Xu Hui Qu, Shang Hai Shi, China, 200031
-
- 31 August, 2026
-
-
Church & Music - Presenting at Church music symposium
31 August, 2026 - 1 September, 2026
Vestervig Kirkemusikskole, Skindbjerg Høje 1, 7770 Vestervig, Denmark
-
ACHIEVEMENTS
International Rankings
Two of Jonas’ ensembles are currently (2025) ranked among the Top 10 Choirs in the World by INTERKULTUR’s official Top 1000 list:
• Youth Choir Aarhus U – #2 worldwide after winning the 6th European Choir Games in July 2025
• Academic Choir Aarhus – #8 worldwide after winning the 5th Kalamata International Choral Competition in October 2024
INTERKULTUR is the world’s leading organizer of international choral competitions and festivals since 1988.
International Conducting Awards
- 1st Prize – 20th Gheorghe Dima International Music Competition (2024)
- 3rd Prize & Best Commissioned Work Performance – 9th International Competition for Young Conductors (2019)
- 1st Prize – International Competition for Young Nordic Choral Conductors, Svendborg (2014)
Major Choral Competition Victories
- Winner – World Choral Championship, Tokyo (2019)
- Grand Prix – The World Choral Cup (Sing for Gold, Spain, 2022)
- Winner – European Choir Games & Grand Prix of Nations (2023, 2025)
- Winner – Let The Peoples Sing, European Broadcasting Union (2019)
- Winner – Nordic Barbershop Championships (2023)
- Grand Prix – Rimini International Choral Competition, Italy (2018)
- Grand Prix – Kalamata International Choral Competition, Greece (2024)
-
Videos from various competitions
ENSEMBLES
Youth Choir Aarhus U
Youth Choir Aarhus U is a mixed youth choir based at Aarhus Cathedral, consisting of 40 young singers aged 15–25. Under the leadership of Jonas Rasmussen, the choir has established itself as a central voice in Denmark’s vibrant choral youth scene.
Known for its curiosity and versatility, Aarhus U moves effortlessly between classical, contemporary, folk, and everything in between. At two consecutive European Choir Games – first in 2023 in Norrköping and then in 2025 in Aarhus – the choir won both the Sacred Music and Pop/Jazz categories – and was the highest-scoring choir in the entire competition. Today, Aarhus U ranks 2nd on INTERKULTUR’s list of the 1,000 best choirs in the world.
The choir has collaborated with acclaimed artists such as The King’s Singers, Voces8, the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra. It has performed live on national television, sung for Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, and given concerts in all ten of Denmark’s cathedrals.
Aarhus U has also made its mark on the recording scene. Most recently, the choir released Håbet er levende (2025) – 20 newly composed hymns by Marianne Søgaard, exploring the meeting point between tradition and innovation. In 2024 came Fem får, fire geder, a collection of new Danish folk arrangements by Cecilie Holst, and in 2023 the album Lucia på Dansk received widespread critical acclaim, including being named “Album of the Week” on Danish Radio P2.
Academic Choir Aarhus
Academic Choir Aarhus – founded in 1985 and conducted by Jonas Rasmussen since 2018 – is one of Denmark’s leading semi-professional choirs. Its singers, aged 20–40, are closely connected to the vibrant musical life of Aarhus University and the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus.
Performing around 15 concerts a year in Denmark and touring widely, the choir has appeared in Japan, Spain, Greece and Wales. In recent years, its international profile has soared, winning major competitions such as the Kalamata International Choral Competition (2024), Sing for Gold Grand Prix in Barcelona (2022), the World Choral Championship in Tokyo (2019), and the Rimini International Choral Competition Grand Prix (2018).
Dedicated to championing Denmark’s rich choral tradition, the choir regularly commissions new works from leading composers, including Bo Holten, Jesper Koch, Per Drud Nielsen, and its own members.
Ensemble Novum
Ensemble Novum is a professional twelve-voice vocal ensemble, made up of hand-picked singers from the vibrant and diverse choral scene in Jutland, Denmark. Bringing together some of the country’s most experienced and musically curious vocalists, the ensemble explores new artistic pathways for Danish choral music.
With an uncompromising commitment to artistic excellence, Ensemble Novum is dedicated to renewing and developing Denmark’s choral tradition. Its artistic manifesto is simple yet ambitious: every concert must include at least one world premiere by a Danish composer. This approach makes the ensemble an important platform for both established and emerging composers, and a living laboratory for innovative musical ideas.
The repertoire ranges from fresh interpretations of historic Danish choral works to brand new music written specifically for the ensemble. It is marked by broad stylistic variety, technical precision, and a sound aesthetic inspired by both the Nordic choral tradition and contemporary international trends.
Looking forward, Ensemble Novum will also be engaged in outreach and talent development projects, including mentoring young singers and conductors. In this way, the ensemble works to ensure that Danish choral music is not only preserved, but continually renewed and passed on to new generations.
RELEASES
2025 – Håbet er levende – hymns by Marianne Søgaard – Aarhus U & Jonas Rasmussen
2024 – Fem får, fire geder – Danish folk music arrangements by Cecilie Holst – Aarhus U & Jonas Rasmussen
2023 – Lucia på dansk – Aarhus U & Jonas Rasmussen
2023 – Barbershop på dansk – BarbAros & Jonas Rasmussen
2021 – Carl Nielsen Suite – Ole Faurschou, Akademisk Kor Århus & Jonas Rasmussen
2021 – God of Every Sense – Susan LaBarr, Akademisk Kor Århus & Jonas Rasmussen
2020 – Lotusøje – Per Drud Nielsen, Akademisk Kor Århus & Jonas Rasmussen
CREATOR
Social Media
With more than 200.000 followers across platforms, Jonas Rasmussen shares the joy, artistry, and diversity of choral music with a global audience. His goal is to inspire singers, conductors, and music lovers everywhere — whether they are discovering choral music for the first time or have sung in choirs their whole lives.
From playful warm-ups and rehearsal games to in-depth repertoire insights, conducting tips, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, he makes choral music accessible, exciting, and relevant. Every post is created with two things in mind: to celebrate the beauty of the human voice and to encourage others to join in that celebration.
COMPOSER
Jonas Rasmussen’s compositions are rooted in the Danish choral tradition while embracing a fresh, contemporary voice. He writes primarily for choir, often weaving together lyrical melodies, rich harmonies, and a deep connection to text.
His works include commissions for ensembles such as Academic Choir Aarhus, Youth Choir Aarhus U, Ensemble Novum and national choir organisations. Jonas is currently working on The Seasons of the Year – a year-long project setting all eight poems from Johannes V. Jensen’s celebrated 1925 collection Årets Højtider to music.
Highlights of his output include Frydeligt med Jubelkor (Akademisk Kor Århus), Lyset Brænder (Aarhus U), 8 danske ordsprog (Ensemble Novum), and Tral (Korliv Summer School).
ARRANGER
Jonas’ arrangements ranges from fresh interpretations of Danish folk songs to vibrant adaptations of new hymnody and popular tunes.
In 2025, ten of his arrangements of hymns by Marianne Søgaard were published by the Danish publisher Mixtur.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Podcast
“Koryfæer – A Podcast About Choirs” is for everyone with an interest in choral music. Step behind the music and meet the composers, conductors, organizers, and enthusiasts who keep the Danish choral tradition alive. Through informal, agenda-free conversations, we get to know the people behind the names on the sheet music, concert posters, and workshops. A slow-paced, intimate podcast, released about once a month, celebrating the people who shape the Danish choral scene.
So far only available in Danish
Complete works by Svend S. Schultz
Since 2021, Academic Choir Aarhus has partnered with the record label Danacord to record the complete a cappella choral works of Svend S. Schultz (1913–1998) – one of Denmark’s most beloved 20th-century choral composers, known for his lyrical style and deep connection to the Danish song tradition. Three of the planned five albums have already been released to critical acclaim, earning praise both nationally and internationally – including “Album of the Week” on Danish National Radio P2.
The Seasons’ Celebrations
In 2025, Jonas Rasmussen has embarked on an ambitious year-long composition project setting all eight poems from Årets Højtider (The Seasons’ Celebrations) by Nobel Prize–winning Danish author Johannes V. Jensen (1873–1950) to music. First published in 1925, the collection is a lyrical celebration of the Danish seasons and their traditions. Each new choral work will be premiered and released throughout 2025, marking the book’s centenary, with scores, recordings, and visual material made available to choirs and audiences alike. The project aims to honour one of Denmark’s greatest literary voices.
PRESS
Action shots
Head shots
Curriculum Vitae
500 word CV
Jonas Rasmussen (b. 1992) is a Danish conductor, educator, composer and content creator with a growing international career spanning performance, teaching and choral advocacy. Known for combining high artistic ambition with playfulness and accessibility, he is Artistic Director of Academic Choir Aarhus, Youth Choir Aarhus U and Ensemble Novum, and teaches classical choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus.
Under his direction, Academic Choir Aarhus and Youth Choir Aarhus U have received numerous major international awards. These include the World Choral Championship in Tokyo (2019), the Grand Prix at the Rimini International Choral Competition (2018), the European Broadcasting Union’s Let the Peoples Sing competition in Barcelona (2019), the World Choral Cup in Barcelona (2022), and multiple gold medals at the European Choir Games in 2023 and 2025. Both ensembles have been ranked among the top ten choirs worldwide in INTERKULTUR’s World Rankings, with Youth Choir Aarhus U reaching No. 2 and Academic Choir Aarhus No. 8.
As a conductor, Jonas has also received several individual distinctions. He won First Prize at the 20th Gheorghe Dima International Music Competition in 2024, Third Prize at the 9th International Competition for Young Conductors in Paris in 2019, and First Prize at the International Competition for Young Nordic Choral Conductors in 2014.
Alongside his work with his own ensembles, Jonas is increasingly active internationally as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. His 2026/27 season includes engagements across ten countries, with workshops, festivals, conferences and jury appointments throughout Europe and North America. In February 2027, he will make his Carnegie Hall debut in New York, leading the National Youth Chorus in a three-day residency presented by National Concerts.
Education and mentorship are central to Jonas’ work. Since 2021, he has taught classical choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. He also serves as an international mentor with Forge Conducting, working individually with conductors from around the world, and is regularly invited to lead workshops and masterclasses for singers, conductors and music educators internationally. His first book, The Playful Choir, published by ECS Publishing in 2026, brings together 30 practical rehearsal activities developed through his work with choirs and conductors.
Jonas is also active as a composer and arranger, with a particular interest in Danish and Nordic choral traditions. With Academic Choir Aarhus, he is currently undertaking Efterklange, a five-album project recording the complete a cappella works for mixed choir by Danish composer Svend S. Schultz. Four of the five albums have now been recorded. His own compositions and arrangements are performed by choirs in Denmark and abroad.
Beyond the concert hall and classroom, Jonas has built one of the most visible digital platforms in contemporary choral music. Through ChoirConductor, he shares rehearsal ideas, conducting exercises and perspectives on choral practice with more than 350,000 followers across platforms, reaching millions of viewers worldwide.
Jonas studied choral conducting at the University of Cambridge, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. Across his work, he seeks to make ambitious choral music engaging, relevant and accessible — for singers, conductors and audiences alike.
200 word CV
Jonas Rasmussen (b. 1992) is a Danish conductor, educator, composer and content creator known for combining artistic ambition with playfulness and accessibility. He is Artistic Director of Academic Choir Aarhus, Youth Choir Aarhus U and Ensemble Novum, and teaches classical choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus.
Under his direction, his ensembles have received major international awards, including the World Choral Championship in Tokyo, the EBU’s Let the Peoples Sing, the World Choral Cup and multiple gold medals at the European Choir Games. Individually, Jonas won First Prize at the 20th Gheorghe Dima International Music Competition in 2024.
Jonas is increasingly active internationally as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator and educator, with engagements across ten countries during the 2026/27 season. He serves as a mentor with the international programme Forge Conducting, and in February 2027 he will make his Carnegie Hall debut, leading the National Youth Chorus.
His book The Playful Choir was published by ECS Publishing in 2026. Through his online platform ChoirConductor, Jonas shares rehearsal ideas and conducting insights with more than 350,000 followers across platforms and millions of viewers worldwide.
He studied choral conducting in Cambridge, Stockholm and Aarhus.
50 word CV
Jonas Rasmussen is a Danish conductor and educator combining artistic ambition with playfulness and accessibility. He leads Academic Choir Aarhus, Youth Choir Aarhus U and Ensemble Novum, teaches choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, and shares his work worldwide through ChoirConductor, reaching more than 350,000 followers across platforms.
CONTACT
Jonas Rasmussen
Conductor | Composer | Creator
Artistic Director of Academic Choir Aarhus, Youth Choir Aarhus U and Ensemble Novum
Choral conducting teacher at The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus
Instagram: @choirconductor
Facebook: @choirconductor
YouTube: @choralconductor
WhatsApp: +45 41401500
E-Mail: contact@jonasrasmussen.dk