BigBand der Deutschen Oper Berlin

A benefit concert in 2005 with the 12 brass players and a percussionist from the Deutsche Oper Orchestra is considered the birth of the BigBand. In the beginning, the baritone saxophonist Rolf von Nordenskjöld led the band. In the meantime, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger Manfred Honetschläger provides the right sound. Stars like Katharine Mehrling, Madeline Bell, Lyambiko, Jocelyn B. Smith, Pe Werner, Bill Ramsey, Georgie Fame, Jiggs Whigham, Jeff Cascaro and Richard Galliano have already been guests. In collaboration with General Music Director Donald Runnicles, a crossover concert took place in 2011, as well as the world premiere of the jazz melodrama “The Seduction of Pentheus” by Manfred Honetschläger in 2016 on the grand stage of the Deutsche Oper Berlin with the orchestra and the BigBand of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, also conducted by Donald Runnicles and together with actor Ben Becker.

Other highlights included a concert with Paul Kuhn in June 2012, which was the last time he performed with a big band. Also worth mentioning is the concert on the occasion of the Brandenburg Summer Concerts 2014 at the not yet opened BER Airport Berlin-Brandenburg with over 2000 visitors. The band celebrated its tenth anniversary with a brilliant concert in front of a sold-out audience with soloists Torsten Goods, Polly Gibbons and trumpeter Till Brönner. In April 2018, the BigBand of the Deutsche Oper Berlin was invited to Warsaw for a three-day guest performance, which included two concerts together with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. In the summer of 2022, the BigBand performed Charles Mingus’ “Epitaph” for the first time at Musikfest Berlin under the direction of Titus Engel and together with musicians from the Jazz Institute Berlin and the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In addition to its established Jazz & Lyrics series at the Tischlerei, the BigBand also performs regularly on the big stage at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, for example in April 2022 with Ute Lemper as a star guest. 

Three CDs have been released by monsrecords so far: The CD “Premiere”, released in 2008, was made together with Bill Ramsey, a second was released in 2010 under the title “How long is now?” together with Pascal von Wroblewsky. The third CD, “A Soul Journey”, is a concert recording by RBB from February 2018 with soloists, choir and big band, in which Christian Brückner guides through the history of soul. Also together with Christian Brückner and with music by Martin Auer, the multi-award-winning audio books of the same name were created based on the respective narrative concerts “The Jungle Book”, “The Ballad of Robin Hood” and “The Canterville Ghost”. In addition, the recording of Charles Mingus’ monumental work “Epitaph”, recorded at Musikfest Berlin 2022, is available as a double album from EuroArts, as is the double CD “A Celebration for the Duke”, also recorded at Musikfest Berlin in September 2024.