About
Joachim Saxenborn is a Swedish conductor, concert-, and opera singer, composer, and vocal teacher with an international profile, educated at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Joachim Saxenborn is a Swedish conductor, concert and opera singer, composer, and vocal teacher with an international profile. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and is known for his artistic versatility—equally at home on the concert stage and in avant-garde musical theatre.
Saxenborn is the founder of Saxenborn Singers, a choir devoted to twentieth-century and contemporary repertoire. Since it's founding the ensemble has premiered major works by acclaimed composers including Stefan Klaverdal and Johan-Magnus Sjöberg. In 2022, he founded Ensemble Voyage, focusing on new a cappella music.
He has performed at international festivals including Performatik Festival (Belgium), Festival Csillags Zene (Hungary), Gracelands Festival (Ireland), and Lund International Choral Festival (Sweden), and has appeared at events hosted by Swedish embassies and chambers of commerce in the Netherlands and Hungary.
His collaboration with visual artist Ulla von Brandenburg has resulted in major theatre productions across Europe. He leads a highly regarded choral education program in Sweden and has conducted numerous workshops for young aspiring conductors. He is also co-author of the book The Singing City.
Saxenborn is a lyric baritone whose artistic work spans song recital, opera, oratorio, and contemporary music theatre.
A dedicated interpreter of new music, he has collaborated closely with composers in the development and premiere of new operatic works, including Beredskapsarbetaren by Jonatan Sersam with Opera Alltet and the staged oratorio Katharina och Martin – en passion by Johan-Magnus Sjöberg, written for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. He has also appeared with Wiener Taschenoper in Dieter Kaufmann's Der stumme Büßer – Bruder Boleslav.
Alongside his contemporary work, Saxenborn performs repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to the Classical period, with roles including Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at Schlosstheater Schönbrunn in Vienna and Johann Gottlieb Naumann's Osiris with the Malmö Lyric Opera Ensemble in Sweden and Denmark.
He has appeared at international festivals including Wiener Festwochen and Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado. Earlier international engagements included invitations as Guest of Honour at cultural events and benefit galas in Mexico. His current artistic activity increasingly extends across Latin America.
He was a finalist at the 12th International Nico Dostal Competition in Austria, where he received the Audience Prize.
Saxenborn is a composer working with choirs and interdisciplinary projects, with a strong focus on collaboration and cross-disciplinary artistic processes.
He has created scores for the contemporary art films Chorspiel and Baisse-toi montagne, lève-toi vallon by Ulla von Brandenburg, as well as the performance work Waheide – how do you pronounce your name? by Maria Lepistö.
His work has been presented at festivals and venues including Performa 07 (USA), Gracelands Festival (Ireland), Performatik Festival and Atlas Museum (Belgium), Pilar Corrias Gallery and The Common Guild (UK), the Contemporary Art Centre (Latvia), and Lilith Performance Studio (Sweden).
His recent work includes the choral piece I rörelse (In Motion), a commissioned work for Medborgarskolan, premiered in May 2026.
A passionate and dedicated teacher with nearly three decades of experience, Saxenborn coaches singers and leads workshops and masterclasses, frequently collaborating with speech therapist and voice researcher Professor Viveka Lyberg Åhlander. He also participates in research projects focusing on choral singing and the human voice.
May 2026
Saxenborn is the founder of Saxenborn Singers, a choir devoted to twentieth-century and contemporary repertoire. Since it's founding the ensemble has premiered major works by acclaimed composers including Stefan Klaverdal and Johan-Magnus Sjöberg. In 2022, he founded Ensemble Voyage, focusing on new a cappella music.
He has performed at international festivals including Performatik Festival (Belgium), Festival Csillags Zene (Hungary), Gracelands Festival (Ireland), and Lund International Choral Festival (Sweden), and has appeared at events hosted by Swedish embassies and chambers of commerce in the Netherlands and Hungary.
His collaboration with visual artist Ulla von Brandenburg has resulted in major theatre productions across Europe. He leads a highly regarded choral education program in Sweden and has conducted numerous workshops for young aspiring conductors. He is also co-author of the book The Singing City.
Saxenborn is a lyric baritone whose artistic work spans song recital, opera, oratorio, and contemporary music theatre.
A dedicated interpreter of new music, he has collaborated closely with composers in the development and premiere of new operatic works, including Beredskapsarbetaren by Jonatan Sersam with Opera Alltet and the staged oratorio Katharina och Martin – en passion by Johan-Magnus Sjöberg, written for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. He has also appeared with Wiener Taschenoper in Dieter Kaufmann's Der stumme Büßer – Bruder Boleslav.
Alongside his contemporary work, Saxenborn performs repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to the Classical period, with roles including Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at Schlosstheater Schönbrunn in Vienna and Johann Gottlieb Naumann's Osiris with the Malmö Lyric Opera Ensemble in Sweden and Denmark.
He has appeared at international festivals including Wiener Festwochen and Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado. Earlier international engagements included invitations as Guest of Honour at cultural events and benefit galas in Mexico. His current artistic activity increasingly extends across Latin America.
He was a finalist at the 12th International Nico Dostal Competition in Austria, where he received the Audience Prize.
Saxenborn is a composer working with choirs and interdisciplinary projects, with a strong focus on collaboration and cross-disciplinary artistic processes.
He has created scores for the contemporary art films Chorspiel and Baisse-toi montagne, lève-toi vallon by Ulla von Brandenburg, as well as the performance work Waheide – how do you pronounce your name? by Maria Lepistö.
His work has been presented at festivals and venues including Performa 07 (USA), Gracelands Festival (Ireland), Performatik Festival and Atlas Museum (Belgium), Pilar Corrias Gallery and The Common Guild (UK), the Contemporary Art Centre (Latvia), and Lilith Performance Studio (Sweden).
His recent work includes the choral piece I rörelse (In Motion), a commissioned work for Medborgarskolan, premiered in May 2026.
A passionate and dedicated teacher with nearly three decades of experience, Saxenborn coaches singers and leads workshops and masterclasses, frequently collaborating with speech therapist and voice researcher Professor Viveka Lyberg Åhlander. He also participates in research projects focusing on choral singing and the human voice.
May 2026