Christian Grube

Christian Grube (born September 20, 1934 in Hanover ) is a German choir director and university lecturer.

Christian Grube

Life

After his school education, Grube studied school and church music at the Academy for Music and Theater in Hanover and at the church music school with the main subjects conducting, organ , singing , flute and renaissance instruments . Even during his student days he became a sought-after and experienced oratorio soloist. In addition, he organized choir workshops in Germany and Switzerland.

After completing both courses, he took up his first position as cantor at St. Michaeliskirche in Hildesheim; at the same time he began to teach at the Andreanum grammar school .

In 1973, Grube, now a student councilor , was appointed professor of choral conducting at the University of the Arts in Berlin and director of the state and cathedral choir . True to its name, which it has had since the beginning of the 20th century, the State and Cathedral Choir, under Grube's direction, sang not only regularly at services in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and on special church occasions, but also at state festive events. The State and Cathedral Choir was the choir that had the honor of singing in 1990 at the official celebrations for German reunification that were broadcast around the world.

The State and Cathedral Choir under the direction of Christian Grube at the festive service on the Day of German Unity

Herbert Hildebrandt , at that time head of the (East) Berlin Cathedral Choir, had always believed in reunification and therefore deliberately founded his Cathedral Choir as a mixed and not as a boys' choir. Thanks to the friendly relationships between him and Christian Grube, which culminated in a joint concert in east Berlin before the fall of the Wall, Grube was able to return the cathedral choir to its original home, the Berlin Cathedral , after the fall of the Berlin Wall .

In 1975, Grube founded the Chamber Choir of the Berlin University of the Arts, a mixed choir made up of (now also former) students of the UdK, many of them specializing in school music. His two choirs have performed under the direction of Herbert von Karajan , Seiji Ozawa , Zubin Mehta , Wolfgang Sawallisch , Riccardo Chailly , Mauricio Kagel and others. a. sung, played with ensembles such as the Berliner Philharmoniker , the Deutsche Oper Berlin , the Berliner Ensemble and the Komische Oper and with singers such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Edita Gruberová , Júlia Várady , Christoph Prégardien , and Thomas Quasthoff (who started his singing career in Grube's children's choir began in Hildesheim).

His students have become school music teachers, conducting professors and opera singers in various countries. A whole generation of singers, not only in the Berlin choirs, has learned from Christian Grube or in the choirs of his students over the course of 30 years. 2010 he was in recognition of outstanding contributions to the choir for life , the siblings Mendelssohn medal awarded.

Arvo Pärt dedicated his now famous Magnificat to Christian Grube and the State and Cathedral Choir, after the latter won first prize in the German Choir Competition. Grube conducted the State and Cathedral Choir in Maurice Jarre's film music for Gorillas im Nebel , which was nominated for an Oscar .

Concert tours have taken his choirs to almost all European countries, to the Soviet Union , North and South America , Africa , Israel , Korea and Taiwan . These trips were often combined with lectures, workshops, and radio or television productions. Many of these countries have invited Grube as a guest conductor, to lead master classes or choir workshops as a result of these trips. In addition, he was a juror at choir competitions in Germany, Hungary and Poland, but also at the first international choir competition in the USA (San Luis Obispo, California).

Because of the diplomatic impact of his work around the world, Christian Grube was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, in 1995. After a labor-intensive but also eventful period of service of almost 27 years, which is the longest of all cathedral choir directors appointed in the past century, Grube retired in autumn 1999.

Christian Grube spends part of the year as professor emeritus in Berlin, where he continues to give conducting lessons at the Berlin University of the Arts and directs his chamber choir. He also holds conducting workshops and works as a guest conductor in Europe and the USA. He has been writing reviews of new releases for Bärenreiter Verlag for many years. The other part of the year he lives in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California , where he gives private conducting lessons. Since June 2006 he has also been the artistic director and conductor of the Santa Cruz Chorale there.

Discography (selection)

Both choirs produced recordings under the direction of Christian Grube and participated in various recordings.

• Heinrich Schütz, Musical Exequies / Johann Sebastian Bach, Actus tragicus

Regina Jakobi, Harry Geraerts , Harry van der Kamp , Jelle Drayer, boy soloists; Staats- und Domchor Berlin LP January 1983 (Berlin); Teldec / HdK

• Heinrich von Herzogenberg, The birth of Christ

Regina Schudel, Anke Eggers, Peter Maus, Ernst-Gerold Schramm; Oriol Ensemble; Chamber Choir of the HdK Berlin, Staats- und Domchor Berlin Production January 1988 (Berlin); SFB / CD 1990 (Stuttgart) Hänssler Verlag

• Johann Sebastian Bach, I had a lot of distress (Cantata 21)

Grzyna Flicinska-Panfil, Elisabeth Umierski, Albrecht Lepetit, Markus Köhler; Ensemble Baroque of the HdK, Staats- und Domchor Berlin, Martin Ludwig, organ CD March 1992 (Berlin); State and Cathedral Choir / HdK Berlin

• A concert to commemorate Hiroshima

Joseph Haydn, The Creation Edith Mathis, Christoph Pregardien, Harald Stamm; Shin-Yu Kai Choir (Japan), Pécs Chamber Choir, Chamber Choir of the HdK Berlin; World Symphony Orchestra; Mosche Atzmon CD 1990 (Assisi), Grammophon (AB BIS) / IPPNW (Doctors Against Nuclear War)

• A concert for Lidice

Béla Bartók, Divertimento for string orchestra Bohuslav Martinů, Concertino for piano trio and string orchestra Antal Doráti; Pater noster and Jesus or Barabas? Will Quadflieg (speaker), Chamber Choir of the HdK Berlin; Czech Philharmonic, New Berlin Chamber Orchestra; Martin Fischer-Dieskau CD 1992 (Berlin) Grammophon (AB BIS) / IPPNW

• Hugo Distler, Möricke choir song book

Chamber choir of the HdK Berlin CD 1994 (Berlin), Thorofon

• Hugo Distler, The Christmas story and song motets for Christmas

Stephanie Petitlaurent, Sylvia Fricke, Klaus Thiem, Rudolf Preckwinkel Chamber Choir of the HdK Berlin CD 1996 (Berlin), Thorofon

Web links

• Santa Cruz Chorale
• Christian Grube on the website of the Chamber Choir of the University of the Arts, Berlin