Europe Philharmonic
The Europa Philharmonie is a European symphony orchestra with its headquarters in Magdeburg . The Philharmonie, originally founded as a youth orchestra, is today an international ensemble made up of members of leading German and European concert and theater orchestras who accompanied and shaped this ensemble as young music students. The sponsor of the international orchestra is the European Philharmonic Association. Reinhard Seehafer is the founder and chief conductor . The orchestra is advised by the Artistic Advisory Board, which consists of members of the Europa Philharmonie who work voluntarily as representatives of their countries and who support the Europa Philharmonie as ambassadors with their specific national experiences.
history
The idea of a European orchestra was brought to life in Görlitz in 1996 after the elimination of dividing borders in Europe by the artistic director Wolf-Dieter Ludwig and the chief conductor Reinhard Seehafer under the name Junge Europera Philharmonie and later from 1998 as the European Philharmonic through collaboration with the artistic director Ferry Tomaszyk underpinned as ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in international guest appearances. The orchestra gave its founding concert in 1996 with a Europe-wide 3sat live broadcast from Görlitzer Peterskirche with Gustav Mahler's “ Resurrection Symphony ” under the direction of chief conductor Reinhard Seehafer in cooperation with the Kreisau / Krzyżowa Foundation for European Understanding.
From 1998 to 2007, Hundisburg Castle in Saxony-Anhalt was the seat of the orchestra, one of the most important rural baroque castles in northern Germany. From 2008 to 2011 the orchestra resided in Baden-Württemberg . The orchestra has been based in Saxony-Anhalt again since 2012.
The importance of the European Philharmonic for a tolerant, united Europe is also reflected in the patronage of the German and Polish presidents and the President of the German Bundestag as well as the work of the “Indivisible Europe” board of trustees, which includes personalities such as Kurt Masur , Leah Rabin , former Federal Foreign Minister. D. Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Dieter Stolte belonged.
Worldwide concert activity
- On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the People's Republic of China, the European Philharmonic made a guest appearance in 2002 in Shanghai , Beijing and five other Chinese cities.
- In 2004, in the Yemeni capital Sanaa , the orchestra was the world's first classical symphony orchestra to play the opening concert “Sanaa - Cultural Capital of Arab World” in the presence of its patron, Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse , and the Yemeni Minister for Culture and Tourism, Khalid Al-Rewaishan. In addition to the invited guests, 5,000 listeners experienced this spectacular concert against the backdrop of Sanaa's old town. TV stations broadcast the concert live all over the Arab world. Other stops on this tour were Abu Dhabi , Ajman and the Sultanate of Oman , where the orchestra played the traditional New Year's concert.
- Festive concert in the Cypriot capital Nicosia "Welcome in Europe" 2004 on the occasion of the impending accession of Cyprus to the EU , which was broadcast live on television.
- As ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, the orchestra undertook a concert tour in 2005 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War from Kefalonia via Athens to Crete . Places where massacres took place and which are representative of the many other victims' communities in Greece.
- “Christmas Gala” 2005 in Antalya (Turkey), where the orchestra was honored for its services to the cultural rapprochement between peoples.
Current initiatives
- Classic - I like it! for children and young people in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg
- Cultural sustainability for future generations with projects on climate and environmental protection