Raphael Haeger

Raphael Haeger studied percussion at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen and was a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. From 1994 to 2004 he was a percussionist in the orchestra of the Nationaltheater Mannheim. Raphael Haeger is committed to contemporary music and has performed with Heinz Holliger, Michael Gielen, Hans Werner Henze, Helmut Lachenmann and the Ensemble Modern, among others. Raphael Haeger has been a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2004 and has been involved in the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2012. He is not only a percussionist, but also a passionate jazz pianist. Even as a teenager, he played in several jazz bands, for which he also wrote arrangements. He was artistic director and pianist of the “Jazz at the Opera” concert series at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and released a CD of his own jazz compositions in 2002.

In addition, he founded the sextet Bolero Berlin together with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2008. With its unusual line-up (viola, clarinet, guitar, piano, double bass and drums) and its rousing jazz arrangements, the ensemble has been a hit with audiences. In 2012, Raphael Haeger finally devoted himself to another passion, conducting. He completed a master's degree in orchestral conducting at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, conducted the Leipzig University Orchestra from 2011 to 2014 and has also occasionally conducted the Karajan Academy in the past.