Xander Kritzinger is a choral conductor, tenor, vocal pedagogue and composer of predominantly vocal music, who began his music career as a member of the Drakensberg Boys Choir. It is here where he was appointed as student conductor and voice teacher. Xander then enrolled at Stellenbosch University where he completed his undergraduate, Honours and Master degrees. During his undergraduate years he won both the Mabel Quick and Hartman singing bursaries. His Master’s degree discusses singing performance, with a focus on research into training the changing or mutating voice.
From 2008 to 2022, Xander has been the full-time choral conductor at Stellenbosch High School.
Since 2014 Xander has served as conductor of the Viva Cantare community choir from Stellenbosch and in 2019 he established the Stellies Children’s Choir, a community choir for primary school learners from the greater Stellenbosch area.
Currently Xander is also a part-time voice lecturer at the Music Department of Stellenbosch University and is the managing director and founder of the Cape Choral Academy which will start in 2023.
As a tenor Xander specialises in early music and has performed with professional vocal ensembles like the Cape Consort and Cape Town Soloist Choir. He has performed as soloist in major works like Bach’s Ascension Oratorio, Handel’s Utrecht Jubilate and other oratorios. He has also played the role of ‘Gerrardo’ in Pucini’s opera ‘Gianni Schicchi’.