Since 2024, the Kulturkreis has been supporting young musical talent with a more focused sponsorship profile: the Kulturkreis Tour gives award winners the opportunity to perform at renowned festivals such as the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Heidelberger Frühling, and the Lucerne Festival. This gives the musicians the opportunity to gain a wide range of stage experience – from experimental performances to large solo concerts with orchestral accompaniment.

The finalists for the 2026 German Business Music Prize have been announced

Since 1953, the Cultural Committee of German Business has been supporting young, up-and-coming talent in the field of music. The German Business Music Prize is intended to provide powerful support at the beginning of a musical career and is aimed at musicians under the age of 30 in German-speaking countries with recognizable potential for a successful career.

This year, Benjamin Günst (violin), Chelsea Guo (piano/soprano), and Sarah Luisa Wurmer (zither) were nominated by the jury for the music prize, which is endowed with 15,000 euros.

The three finalists for the 2026 Music Prize:

What's next?

In the next step, the three musicians will present themselves to the jury and the audience in a public final concert on April 30, 2026, at the Konzerthaus Berlin. They will be accompanied by the Konzerthaus orchestra under the baton of conductor Prof. Steven Sloane. The jury meeting to select the winner will take place immediately after the final concert.
 

The music sponsorship program is supported by G. Henle Verlag, the Peter Klöckner Foundation, and Dr. Arend Oetker.

The 2026 Jury

The jury, chaired by Prof. Dr. Tobias Wollermann, Chairman of the Music Committee of the Cultural Circle and Group Vice President Corporate Responsibility Otto Group, includes:

• Christiane Weber (Lucerne Festival)

• Ursula Haselböck (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival)

• Beate Herbert (Ludwigsburg Castle Festival)

• Thorsten Schmidt (Heidelberg Spring Festival)

• Steven Walter (Beethovenfest Bonn)

• Dr. Anette Semrau (Beethovenfest Bonn)

• Michael Herrmann (Rheingau Music Festival)

• Timo Buckow (Rheingau Music Festival)

• Friedrich Thiele, expert advisor

• Prof. Steven Sloane, expert advisor

• Representatives of the Music Committee (Cultural Committee of German Business)