RIAS Kammerchor © Matthias Heyde
RIAS Kammerchor
The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin is one of the most renowned professional choirs in the world. Numerous awards and prizes document the choir’s high international reputation: The German Record Critics’ Award, the ECHO Klassik, the Gramophone Award, the Choc de l’annee, the Prix Caecilia and the Nachtigall honorary prize from the Jury of the German Record Critics’ Award.
34 professional singers make up the multinational ensemble, which is known for its outstanding and precise sound. Its repertoire ranges from historically informed interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque music to works from the Classical and Romantic eras, together with regular world premieres.
Since the 2017/18 season, Justin Doyle has been the chief conductor and artistic director of the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin. His Japan debut with the choir took place in autumn of 2018. Since then, three recordings with the choir – Benjamin Britten’s “Hymn to Cecilia”, Joseph Haydn’s “Missa Cellensis”, and Handel’s “Messiah” – were released and celebrated by the audience and critics alike. The release of Johannes Brahms’ two “Liebeslieder” cycles is planned for spring 2022.
With approximately 50 concerts a year on national and international stages, the RIAS Kammerchor is a major cultural ambassador for the country. In its home city of Berlin, the choir presents ten concerts each season, including the renowned New Year’s Day concert at the Philharmonie. The Forum Concerts, in collaboration with the ensemble’s Friends Association, explore new concert forms and concepts in unusual locations all over Berlin. Moreover, the choir performs in collaboration with fellow ensembles, such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Every other year, the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin and Deutscher Musikrat host the final concert of Deutscher Chordirigentenpreis, which concludes a multiannual funding programme for aspiring conductors. As part of the RIAS Kammerchor Studio, four young singers are invited to work closely with the choir each season. Additionally, the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin takes on mentorships for Berlin school choirs as part of its education programme.
Distinguished conductors as Günther Arndt, Uwe Gronostay, Marcus Creed, Daniel Reuss and Hans-Christoph Rademann have shaped the choir, which was founded in 1948 as part of the Radio in the American sector. An enduring and fruitful collaboration binds the choir to the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Freiburger Barockorchester, as well as conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, René Jacobs, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Iván Fischer, and Rinaldo Alessandrini.
As of July 2021