The Förderverein INTERKULTUR e.V. (sponsoring association), with support from the city of Zwickau and in cooperation with the Westsächsischer Chorverband e. V. (West Saxony Choral Association) organizes the International Robert Schumann Choral Competition. This competition, which was first staged in 1992 and is usually held every four years, is one of the many activities of Robert Schumann's native city that are dedicated to fostering the legacy of its great son

Robert Schumann's famous maxim taken from the Musical House- and Life-Rules, »Hold the old in high esteem, yet also warmly embrace the new« (»Ehre das Alte hoch, bringe aber auch dem Neuen ein warmes Herz entgegen«) expresses the motto and concern of this international competition, namely to nurture traditional choral music masterfully, particularly that of the 19^th century, but also to bring new choral compositions to the attention of its musically engaged public.

In accordance with the interests, intentions and abilities of each choir, works of German and international Romanticism, as well as of the contemporary choral oeuvre, are to be performed in a variety of categories. The jury has an international line-up. With an average of 1,000 contestants in recent competitions, the city of Zwickau became a city of singers for the duration of the competition; all over the city, choristers met to burst into spontaneous communal singing.