Michael Wagenthaler
Austria
Music Consultant for the Federal State of Lower Austria / Founder of Monsterfreunde Education Programme
Michael Wagenthaler is a highly regarded Choirmaster and a veteran of music performance who dedicates his time towards choral performances with children.
The Linz native graduated from Bildungsanstalt für Kindergartenpädagogik and studied Classical Music at Landes Musik Schule in Austria. Michael has been a theater musical performer at the Performing Arts Studios Vienna and the Vienna Conservatory since 2005. He has also worked with the Vienna Boys Choir and as a Superar Choirmaster with several elementary schools in Vienna.
His choir has previously taken part at the annual 'World Peace Choir Festival', an international event for the younger generation as well as enthusiastic adult choirs of different countries that encourages better intercultural understanding through music performances. They were invited to perform at a concert hosted by China's national television station, CCTV, on the New Year's Eve in 2012.
Michael was responsible for the choir part of the song 'Building Bridges' which was a part of the opening of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015. He also began collaborating with HKPMA in the same year and conducted music camps for Hong Kong students in Austria and Finland. He is currently running one of the biggest music programs in Vienna called 'Monsterfreunde', which involves over 150 teachers from different schools in the city. It aims to creatively engage schoolchildren to learn and explore about music during the school year and gathers them for a year-end concert performance.