Dorothea Koehler

Dorothea Köhler , b. Dorothea Helling (* 1943 in Bockwitz ) is a German conductor and music teacher .

Life

Dorothea Köhler went to school at EOS Lauchhammer, where she graduated from high school in 1961. She then studied music education / German at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg , became choir inspector of the Stadtsingechore zu Halle in 1964 and was the choir director of this third oldest boys 'choir in Germany and the oldest boys' choir in Central Germany from 1968 to 1990 .

From 1972 Dorothea Köhler completed an external music course in the postgraduate course in orchestral conducting at the Leipzig Music Academy with professors Olaf Koch and Rolf Reuter , which she completed in 1977 with music by Samuel Scheidt : dances from "Ludi musici", Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow : "Triumph, Victoria" (Cantata), Wilhelm Friedemann Bach : Symphony in D major and Georg Friedrich Händel : “Utrecht Jubilate” completed in a diploma concert.

Under the direction of Dorothea Köhler, the city choir was rebuilt into an internationally sought-after concert and oratorio choir. She laid the foundation for this in 1972 with the affiliation of the city choir to the Hallesche Philharmonie , of which she became the conductor. Two years later she also took over the interim management of the Singakademie Halle for a year and a half and in 1976 made the acquaintance of the Hungarian musicologist and production manager at HUNGAROTON András Székely . 40 years of productive collaboration began.

In 1978 she was appointed senior teacher . Seven years later began the artistic collaboration with Nicholas McGegan ; she successfully prepared the Stadtsingechor for recordings at HUNGAROTON Budapest (Brockes Passions by Handel and Telemann).

Dorothea Köhler was honored with the Handel Prize in 1987 for her outstanding achievements and was promoted to senior studies councilor (OStR) in the same year .

In 1988 she founded the concert series “Art Hour at the City Singing Choir” as a monthly concert (16 concert evenings until 1990), in 1989 the recordings for the record “Music from the old hall” were made at VEB Deutsche Schallplatten (ETERNA).

In the year of the political reunification of Germany in 1990, Köhler's activity as choir director of the city singing choir finally ended, and in the same year she founded the choir studio cantamus in Halle / Saale with the male choir bouquet vocalis Halle and the chamber choir cantamus hall . It was thanks to their artistic reputation that the two ensembles of this choir studio were invited to important concerts and their first CD production a little later.

Dorothea Köhler worked full-time as a music teacher at the grammar school at Markt Hettstedt from 1991 to 1999 and then as a music teacher at the Georg Cantor grammar school in Halle until she left school . Thanks to her commitment, an agreement was reached with the artistic director of the Halle Opera House to accompany the creation of Ingomar Grünauer's opera “Cantor - the measurement of the infinite” (commissioned by Halle Opera) as a project for the music course of the Georg Cantor Grammar School.

Dorothea Köhler premiered the cantata by Siegfried Bimberg and Hanna Helling “Without nature passes our life” (environmental cantata) in 1996 and recorded it a year later as part of a CD production. From 1998 the concert series “Art Hour” was revived with Köhler's chamber choir cantamus hall in the dresser of the new theater hall , later continued in the theatrical hall and in the concert hall of St. Ulrich Church (until 2013 together with the men's choir bouquet vocalis hall). In 2014 the CD production "Halle, Alte Musenstadt" followed with their chamber choir cantamus halle, members and graduates of the city singing choir and the girls' choir of the August Hermann Francke School, now Latina August Hermann Francke .

On the occasion of the 25th birthday of her chamber choir cantamus halle, Dorothea Köhler gave a gala concert in Halle on October 17, 2015. It was the 40th evening of the continued unique concert series “Art Hour at cantamus”. The 42nd evening of the art class at cantamus under the motto: "Give us peace - faith and politics" was a concert for the 900th anniversary of the city choir of Halle with the participation of male voices from the city choir and graduates of the city choir. The newly appointed choir director of the Halle City Singing Choir , Clemens Flämig , took part as tenor soloist .

Services

Under the direction of Dorothea Köhler, the city choir was rebuilt into an internationally sought-after concert and oratorio choir. Thanks to her commitment, an agreement was reached with the artistic director of the Halle Opera House to accompany the creation of Ingomar Grünauer's opera "Cantor - the measurement of the infinite" (commissioned by Halle Opera) as a project for the music course level of the Georg Cantor Gymnasium Halle .

Honors

In 1987 she was awarded the Handel Prize of the Halle district .

Works

Publications in the Francke-Blätter

• Der Stadtsingechor (part 5) , Francke-Blätter 3/1994, pp. 73-77
• A loud cheer resounds! To you, love, thanks, but to you, music, be price ... , Francke-Blätter 2/1995, pp. 34–42
• chamber choir cantamus halle and the Stadtsingechor (zu) Halle , Francke-Blätter 2/2014, pp. 30–31
• Halle, old city of the muses - a CD that presents sound colors from Halle , Francke-Blätter 3/2014, pp. 19-20
• The chamber choir cantamus halle congratulates the city singing choir on its 900th birthday , Francke-Blätter 1/2016, pp. 38–52
• The parallel choir The girls choir of the August-Hermann-Francke-Schule (1959 - 1982) , Francke-Blätter 3/2016 - special issue 2016/17

Recordings

• Christmas in the cathedral to Halle , chamber choir Cantamus Halle, male choir Bouquet Vocalis Halle, soloists and instrumentalists, Dorthea Köhler (conductor). CD Membrane International GmbH, 1993
• Music from the old hall , Stadtsingechor zu Halle , Camerata musica, Berolina Quartet, Dorothea Köhler (conductor). CD Berlin Classics / Eterna (label), Edel Classics Hamburg (distribution), 1995
• There should be joy everywhere , Mária Zádori (soprano), Martin Krumbiegel (tenor), Jörg Hempel (baritone), Peter Burkhardt (organ), Capella Savaria (conductor: Pál Németh), chamber choir cantamus halle & men's choir bouquet vocalis Halle (conductor: Dorothea Charcoal burner). BHCD 2 Bridgehead Pittsburg / Budapest, 1995
• Halle, old city of muses , graduates of the Halle city choir, Dorothea Köhler, cantamus & friends. CD Tones & Careers, 2014

Web links

• Official website of Dorothea Köhler