Rundfunkchor Berlin © Jonas Holthaus
Rundfunkchor Berlin
With round about 60 concerts per season, award-winning CD recordings and international guest performances – thereunder a celebrated residency at the White Light Festival of New York’s Lincoln Center in October 2016 as well as the first South America tour – Rundfunkchor Berlin (Berlin Radio Choir) is of the world’s outstanding choral ensembles. Three Grammy Awards mark the success of the ensemble. The exceptional breadth of its repertoire, an unmistakable warm, richly nuanced sound, absolute precision and delight in experimentation all contribute to making it one of the chosen partners of international orchestras and conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann or Yannick Nézet-Séguin. It is the permanent partner of the Berliner Philharmoniker as well as of Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester.
Berlin Radio Choir’s experimental project series has attracted great worldwide attention. In collaboration with artists from diverse disciplines, the chorus breaks down the classical concert formation and adopts new modes of choral music for a new audience. For its youngest project “LUTHER dancing with the gods” the choir will collaborate for the first time with director Robert Wilson and will reflect Luther’s influence on the arts and in the arts in a unique concert performance with music by Bach, Nystedt and Reich. The celebrated interactive scenic version of Brahms’s “Ein deutsches Requiem” staged by Jochen Sandig / Sasha Waltz & Guests – “human requiem” - toured to New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Brussels, Athens, and other cities and will be touring in Australasia in spring 2018 for the first time.
With its annual activities for various target groups – the big Sing-along Concert in the Berlin Philharmonie, the Festival of Choral Cultures for international choirs and the Liederbörse (Song Exchange) for children and young people – Berlin Radio Choir invites people of all ages and walks of life to become immersed in the world of professional choral music. Its long-term education programme SlNG! encourages singing in Berlin’s elementary schools. With its Academy and Schola for young professional singers as well as the Berlin International Masterclass for highly qualified young choral conductors it supports the next generation.
Founded in 1925, the choir celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2015. Since its foundation the ensemble was shaped by conductors including Helmut Koch, Dietrich Knothe, Robin Gritton and Simon Halsey. As of season 2015/16 Gijs Leenaars has taken up his post as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Berlin Radio Choir. Simon Halsey was appointed Conductor Laureate and will retain his ties to the ensemble as regular guest conductor. Berlin Radio Choir is an ensemble of Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin (Shareholders: Deutschlandradio, the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Berlin and Radio Berlin-Brandenburg).
As of August 2017