TONALi is not just a competition, but an academy, a festival and an esteemed promotion of youth aswell. It is a unique, complex incentive program using the slogan „young for young“. TONALi sees itself as an audience maker: exceptional young musicians train about 40’000 children and young people for classical music, they get them involved and kindle joy every year and in eight countries beside Germany: Netherland, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Russia, USA and China. TONALi cooperates with many major concert halls, festivals, music academies and universities.

In 2010 the instrumental competition became the core of the project. The renowned conductor Christoph Eschenbach is honorary president of the contest, which focusses on a different instrument every year: cello, violin and piano. The competition is endowed with 28’000 Euros prize money. Young musicians between the ages of 16 and 21, living and studying in Germany, are eligible for participation,. The total prize money of 28’000 Euros is awarded to the winners. During the one week-competition the 12 candidates take part in preliminary rounds consisting of three parts: Round A means playing solo, round B is based on an experimental concert, and round C refers to chamber music of a predefined music genre. From 2015 on the TONALi-Festival accompanies the competition. Every evening former and actual TONALi participants contribute to concerts in unusual environments in Hamburg.

A further TONALi´s speciality is the Audience-Academy. It enables young people to learn the ropes of music management. 500 school pupil managers trained by the academy organize about 100 classical concerts in 50 schools for their peers, parents, contacts and friends. These concerts take place in their schools and surrounding localities. The aim of the audience academy is to encourage the younger generation to experience the realization of classical music, played and conveyed by highly gifted musicians of their own age. The pupil managers from 12 schools not only got to know the candidate allotted to them in preparation for the competition, but also arranged school concerts. All of the TONALi activities find a climax in the urban TONALi-Festival „classic in your neighborhood (Klassik in deinem Kiez)“, which has always taken place in singular halls, clubs, theaters, and cultural centers in and around Hamburg since 2014. For each of these concerts about 100 Hamburg pupil managers develop an organizational frame, marketing ideas, advertising campaigns. TONALi follows its principle „youth organizes, plays and listens.“ The festival programs focus on the instrument that is in the competition of that year i.e. alternating in cello, violin or piano.

The TONALiSTEN agency  is another innovative idea, that was realized in 2016: It comprises a non-profit organization founded by TONALi, HarrisonParrott (represented by Sabine Frank) and Hanni Liang. Its remarkable setup is a circulatory principle, promoting cultural development in three different ways: cultural officials and patrons of the arts support the agency, the agency cares for the young musicians, and these musicians encourage young people to enjoy classical music. By the end of 2016 the agency has taken on 35 Tonalists, who perform with cooperation partners, i.e. the Tonhalle Zürich, The Kopenhagen Summer Festival, Cape-town Philharmonics, St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky-Theatre, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Podium Festival Esslingen or Ferrara Musica. In 2017 the TONALISTEN agency will develop a cultural shareholder model allowing foundations, art patrons and festivals to yield cultural development in return.

TONALi TOUR has developed an innovative educational project to awaken the interest of young people also outside Hamburg following the TONALi principle of encouraging classical music. For this Tonalists play chamber music around the world organized by the artist’s agency. Local pupil managers are trained by TONALi or local promotors to look after the artists, and they organize advertising and realize concerts. There are partners in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Russia, USA and China and TONALi´s able to cooperate with 30 music institutions, such as festivals, concert series and concert halls, and also with 50 schools, 496 pupil managers, who arranged 75 school concerts, reaching about 25’000 listeners as well as 33’000 children and young people. TONALi TOUR supported by the PwC Foundation throughout Germany and by the NORDMETALL-Foundation for projects in Northern Germany.

TONALi´s main sponsors are the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation, the Hans-Kauffmann-Foundation, the Hubertus Wald Foundation, the Clausen Simon Foundation, the ZEIT-Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg, the Körber-Foundation, the PwC Foundation, the Karin Stilke Foundation and the Friends of TONALi e.V. And in addition to the above, the Minister of State for culture and Media sponsored the activities. This support is the first TONALi received from an official institution. Famous musicians such as Paavo Järvi, Lisa Batiashvili, Igor Levit and Janine Jansen, were recently supplemented by renowned classical stars like Kirill Petrenko and Martin Grubinger to make up TONALi´s advisory board. The artist’s advisory board has a representative function for TONALi: they counsel the program for the competition and enable personal introductions for selected TONALi Musicians.

Sebastian Fritsch gewinnt TONALi18 Cellowettbewerb
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TONALi18 Journal 
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Lisa Batiashvili weiht neuen TONALi SAAL ein
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TONALi18 Fest & Wettbewerb
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TONALi TOUR Broschüre ist da
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Tagesaktuelle TONALi-News
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Mediathek
NDR / Radioporträt über TONALi
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Kirill Petrenko
Der designierte Chefdirigent der Berliner Philharmoniker Herr Kirill Petrenko ist dem TONALi-Künstlerbeirat beigetreten
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Foto-Galerie
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TONALi18 Finale / Filmmitschnitt / Elbphilharmonie, 30. Juni 2018

2017
ECHO Klassik 2017
Preis für Nachwuchsförderung / mehr …

2016
Classical:NEXT 2016 Innovation Award
Shortlist / mehr …

2015
Hamburger Preis für Kultur-Kommunikation
3.000 Euro / mehr …

2014
Kulturpreis der Gunter und Juliane Ribke-Stiftung
25.000 Euro / mehr …

2014
mixed up / BKJ und das Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend
Finalist / mehr …

2013
Ritter-Preis der Oscar und Vera Ritter-Stiftung
15.000 Euro / mehr …

2011
Sonderpreis der Prof. Wolfgang und Isolde Stabenow-Stiftung für “erfolgreiche interdisziplinäre Netzwerkarbeit”
5.000 Euro / mehr …

2009
Sonderpreis der Oscar und Vera Ritter-Stiftung
4.000 Euro / mehr …