Star percussionist revealed as Eurovision interval act

Now we can reveal that during the Grand Final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, the internationally renowned percussionist Martin Grubinger will take the stage during the interval act.

For his performance he has composed a unique piece that combines classical music with big band music, choral singing with percussion. The nine-minute program will include 40 instrumentalists as well as the Grammy-winning Arnold Schoenberg Choir.

"In this show we want to present how fascinating and diverse the Austrian music tradition is," Grubinger says, pointing out that he is especially please with the Arnold Schoenberg Choir being a part of it.

The piece he will perform at the contest is based on classical themes of major Austrian composers, such as the final chorus of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No 2, Bruckner’s Symphony No 8 and Mahler’s Symphony No 3. However, they are transformed from their classical form to a modern one in a variety of styles, such as salsa, funk, Fusion, African-Cuban.

Martin Grubinger has performed in major concert halls all over the world despite being only in his thirties. He was already noticed as a teenager when he attended the Mozart Year events in 2006, when he performed five percussion concertos.

A long tradition

Interval acts have been a part of the Eurovision Song Contest for a long time and have introduced the world such as Riverdance and featured superstars like Aqua. Last year the interval act was based on the input from fans all over the world that was gathered through a social media campaign.