The 2016 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition

The Shure Montreux Jazz  Voice Competition showcases up-and-coming vocal talents from around the  world. The contest takes place each year during the legendary Montreux  Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Shure has been honoured to sponsor the  competition since its inception back in 2003.

For the 2016 edition, the Grammy-winning Beninese singer-songwriter  Angélique Kidjo and her jury managed to pare down 164 entries to just 10 semi-finalists  hailing from countries as diverse as France, Turkey, Russia and South  Korea. Both the semi-finals and finals were held on July 8-9 at the  Petit Théâtre at the Montreux Palace Hotel.

The three finalists had 15 minutes to win over the jury. First prize  went to Arta Jekabsone from Latvia after performing “Let the Feeling  Just Flow” and her composition “Sun.” Germany’s Erik Leuthäuser finished  second and Italy’s Fabio Giacalone came third.

Arta Jekabsone, Winner of the 2016 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 

When I was thinking about the concept of what to sing, for me the  first condition was: be yourself, I chose the songs where I felt a  connection.

Finishing her nine years of classical violin training in Latvia, Arta  moved to New York to study jazz and contemporary music at The New  School.

Watch Arta’s winning performance below.

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Congratulations to Arta Jekabsone, who has been elected as the winner of the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 2016.  Inspired by the quote “Love… 

All three of the 2016 finalists took home Shure products of their choice worth €2,000, along with other prizes.

As in years past, former competition winner Sabine Kühlich was  backstage to offer her insights and speak with the finalists and jury  president.

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