The Swiss Grand Award for Music, which is presented this year for the third time by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC), recognises the accomplishments of individual musicians or groups. The 15 nominees provide a snapshot of outstanding Swiss musical creativity.

In 2015, the FOC appointed a ten-member expert panel made up of music critics, programmers and specialists in the field, which then selected candidates from all of the country’s language regions and all music genres and submitted them to the Federal Music Jury. Last February, the seven members of the jury chose 15 finalists from the approximately 60 musicians put forward, and then picked the winner, Sophie Hunger, from among them. She receives the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2016, which carries prize money of CHF 100,000.

Born in 1983, Sophie Hunger first comes to public attention in 2007 with her album Sketches of Sea, in which her strong artistic personality is already apparent. After appearing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2008, the same year she releases her album Monday’s Ghost, which goes gold in Switzerland and marks the start of her international career. Through her albums the artist – who writes, composes and arranges in French, English and German – reveals her multiple qualities, a remarkable voice, an innate feeling for melody, and an appetite for risk. Crossing both national and international boundaries, Sophie Hunger has built up a loyal fan base around the world.

The 15 nominees for the Swiss Grand Award for Music were: Susanne Abbuehl (Lucerne), Laurent Aubert (Geneva), Sophie Hunger (Berlin / Zurich), Philippe Jordan (Paris / Vienna), Tobias Jundt (Berlin), Peter Kernel (Barbara Lehnhoff & Aris Bassetti) (Iseo), Matthieu Michel (Vevey), Fabian Müller (Zurich), Nadja Räss (Einsiedeln), Mathias Rüegg (Vienna), Hansheinz Schneeberger (Basel), Colin Vallon (Vevey / Basel), Hans Wüthrich (Arlesheim), Lingling Yu (Puplinge) and Alfred Zimmerlin (Uster). Each has received the sum of CHF 25,000.

Label Suisse, partner of the Swiss Music Prize 2016

This year, the Swiss Grand Award for Music has partnered with the Label Suisse festival, which showcases Swiss music from all genres. From 16 to 18 September, the festival will present some 80 Swiss musicians and groups from 14 cantons on ten stages in Lausanne, including seven of the Swiss Grand Award for Music nominees. For more information see www.labelsuisse.ch

Sophie Hunger Fri 16.09, 10 p.m. Place Centrale

Peter Kernel Fri 16.09, 9.30 p.m. Le Romandie

Susanne Abbuehl ft.

Matthieu Michel Fri 16.09, 10 p.m. BCV, Concert Hall

Mule & Man (Tobias Jundt) Sat 17.09, 10 p.m. Les Docks

Nadja Räss & Markus Flückiger Sun 18.09, 3 p.m. Place de l’Europe

Colin Vallon (solo) Sun 18.09, 5 p.m. Eglise St François

Additional information and links:

Further information, together with biographies of the Swiss Grand Award for Music winner and nominees, can be found on the website http://www.prixsuissedemusique.ch/en/media/

Interviews with the award winner and nominees and a
film presentation of the nominees are available on the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxSZYPHZ7d4FaLEA0wVlw6A

Attachments:
Homage to Sophie Hunger by Karine Vouillamoz.

Photos of the ceremony, available from 10 p.m.:
http://www.lauren.ch/prix-suisse-de-musique/

The streaming of the ceremony can be found on the websites of the Swiss Music Prize and the RTS (http://www.rts.ch/dossiers/2014/prix-suisse-de-musique/)

Sophie Hunger receives the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2016