Gewandhaus Children's Choir
| Gewandhaus Children's Choir | |
|---|---|
| Seat: | Leipzig |
| Carrier: | Gewandhaus in Leipzig |
| Founding: | 1973 |
| Genus: | Children's choir |
| Head : | Frank-Steffen Elster |
| Voices : | ( Soprano 1/2, alto 1/2 ) |
| Website : | gewandhausorchester.de |
The Gewandhaus Children's Choir is a children's choir in Leipzig , which is maintained as an ensemble by the eponymous Leipzig Gewandhaus . It is divided into the concert choir (approx. 80 children between the ages of 9 and 18) and the junior choir (approx. 50 children between the ages of 6 and 9). The choir is the recipient of the Art Prize of the City of Leipzig and is today one of the leading children's choirs in Germany with an international reputation due to its musical standards and consistent promotion of young talent. The Gewandhaus choirs belong to the Association of German Concert Choirs .
Concert activity
The children's choir performs around 15 to 20 different concerts per season , most of them in the Gewandhaus. He gives concerts a cappella , together with the GewandhausChor , with the Gewandhausorchester in the Great Concert , but also with other well-known ensembles and musicians such as the vocal quartet NINIWE , the Calmus Ensemble Leipzig , Lyambiko , Stephan König and others. a. as well as renowned children's and boys' choirs from Leipzig and at home and abroad. The choir works regularly with composers from Leipzig such as u. a. Christoph J. Göbel, Stephan König, Ekkehard Meister and Fredo Jung together.
repertoire
In responsibility and awareness of the singular meaning of the name “Gewandhaus” in music history and the global reputation of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the choir is committed to high musical standards, which is expressed in the professional way of working. The music-historical spectrum of the repertoire ranges from Renaissance music to contemporary works such as Mellnäs' Aglepta or mass settings by Agnestig, Bojesen or Poulenc ; it includes styles from simple folk songs to sacred and secular motets to large choral symphonic works, e.g. B. Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion , Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's oratorio Paulus , Gustav Mahler's 3rd and 8th symphonies , Igor Stravinsky's psalm symphony , Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem . There are also premieres, u. a. Gija Kantscheli's Lichte Trauer, Siegfried Thiele's Earth Songs or Friedrich Schenker's Michelangelo Symphony. The choir is also dedicated to the areas of pop, jazz, gospel and contemporary a cappella music.
Naturally, a special focus is on maintaining the choir work of the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, for example through concerts as part of the Mendelssohn Festival in Leipzig and cooperation with the Mendelssohn House in Leipzig. Concerts to music from the national schools have been held irregularly but cyclically since 2001 , including choral music from France, England, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Scandinavia. The children 's choir also performed music from films such as “ The Children of Monsieur Mathieu ”, “ The Lord of the Rings ” or “ Edward Scissorhands ”. Various radio, film and television productions as well as several CD recordings round off the diverse activities of the choir.
Regular appearances
arranged by order in the season
- Gewandhausag : Ensembles of the Gewandhaus make music in downtown Leipzig
- Chamber music and film in the Schaubühne Lindenfels : Concert with music from or appropriate to the film shown afterwards
- Advent concerts: concerts with pastries and coffee every Monday and z. T. Tuesday after the first three Sundays in Advent
- Christmas concert by the Gewandhaus choirs
- Christmas matinee on December 24th: The Christmas matinee, which has existed since the 1990s and in which the Christmas story was told from a secular point of view using well-known Christmas carols and a speaker , was created in 2008 by the Christmas story by Charles Dickens in a setting by Ekkehard Meister (Commissioned by the Gewandhaus) replaced. However, it has been performed again since 2012.
- Big concerts at the turn of the year : Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125 by Ludwig van Beethoven on December 29th, 30th and 31st
- Music festival for everyone : day of events with concerts and music education programs specially designed for children and families in cooperation with the music schools "Johann Sebastian Bach" and "Ottmar Gerster" Leipzig
- Growing up - the daily chaos : The series, which has existed since 2004, deals with the topic of growing up. Schoolchildren and choir members also help shape the program with their own texts and songs as part of a literature competition. Musically, elements from jazz, rock, pop, rap and musical are combined. The choir is accompanied by the jazz band Ekky-Meister-Trio . In 2009, the project took place in cooperation with the DFB on the occasion of the U-17 European Football Championship .
- Scenic project
The young choir of the Gewandhaus Children's Choir takes part in some of the concert choir's concerts, e.g. B. to the Advent concerts. Own performances take place once a year in cooperation with the "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" University of Music and Theater in Leipzig .
Scenic projects
The scenic projects have established themselves as a highlight of the season since 2003. This new form for the choir was initiated by choirmaster Frank-Steffen Elster.
| Playtime | title | genus | composer | Librettist | Staging | musical direction | Performance venues |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/2003 | The magic word (caliph stork) | Singspiel | Josef Gabriel Rheinberger | Franziska von Hoffnaaß | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Great hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2003/2004 | Poor Heinrich | Singspiel | Josef Gabriel Rheinberger | Franz Bonn | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Great Hall of the Gewandhaus, KWR Hannover ( choir exchange project with the Hannover Girls Choir ) |
| 2004/2005 | Brundibár | Children's opera | Hans Krása | Adolf Hoffmeister | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Great Hall of the Gewandhaus, Ringkirche Wiesbaden ( 16th German Choir Concert Days of the VDCK ) with the boys' choir of the Jena Philharmonic (concert version ) |
| 2005/2006 | Amadeus' piano (world premiere, commissioned by the Gewandhaus) | Musical theater | Stephan König | Philipp J. Neumann | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster |
Peterskirche Leipzig (preview), Great Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2006/2007 | Annie | musical | Charles Strouse | Martin Charnin / Thomas Meehan | Franziska Vorberger | Frank-Steffen Elster | Great hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2007/2008 | Tin Pan Ali | musical | David Nield | Jeremy James Taylor | Franziska Vorberger | Frank-Steffen Elster | Great hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2008/2009 | Brundibár (with the Moran Choir from Beit Yitzhak, Israel) |
Children's opera | Hans Krása | Adolf Hoffmeister | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster / Naomi Faran | Great Hall of the Gewandhaus, Jewish Museum Berlin |
| 2009/2010 | Brundibár (with the Moran Choir ) |
Children's opera | Hans Krása | Adolf Hoffmeister | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster / Naomi Faran | Performing Arts Center Rishon LeZion |
| 2009/2010 | Eloise | Children's opera | Karl Jenkins | Carol Barratt | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2011/2012 | Eloise | Children's opera | Karl Jenkins | Carol Barratt | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2012/2013 | The Ring (world premiere, commissioned by the Gewandhaus) | Musical theater | Lutz Glandien | Philipp J. Neumann, Carl-Christian Elze | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2013/2014 | Oliver! | musical | Lionel Beard | Lionel Bart, Charles Dickens | Stefan Ebeling, Ulrike Schauer | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2014/2015 | The Second Hurricane | Opera | Aaron Copland | Edwin Denby | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2016/2017 | About dwarfs, giants and children (world premiere, commissioned by the Gewandhaus) | Children's opera | Frank-Steffen Elster | Philipp J. Neumann (based on the fairy tale of Oscar Wilde ) | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
| 2019 | Revolt! (World premiere, commissioned by the Gewandhaus) | Staged production | Walter Zoller | Philipp J. Neumann | Philipp J. Neumann | Frank-Steffen Elster | Mendelssohn Hall of the Gewandhaus |
No scenic project took place in the 2010/2011 and 2015/2016 seasons.
history
The Gewandhaus Children's Choir was named for the first time in the program for the traditional New Year's Eve performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony. At that time, this name stood for the school choir of the Ernst Schneller School (now the Petrischule) Leipzig founded by Reinhardt Syhre in 1963 , which also functioned as a children's opera choir. The official naming took place on December 2, 1973 in the old town hall with a festive choir concert. The leadership of the Gewandhaus children's choir was in the hands of Reinhardt Syhre and Werner Dienemann, second choir director of the opera . In preparation for the opening of the “New Gewandhaus” in 1980, a choir director was employed for both the GewandhausChor and the children's choir for the first time in the history of the Gewandhaus. The former Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller took over the musical direction for the Gewandhaus choir and Wolfgang Dorschner for the children's choir. Reinhardt Syhre and Werner Dienemann took on the task of promoting the next generation.
In 1978 Ekkehard Schreiber was commissioned by the City School Council of Leipzig to set up a municipal children's choir. To this end, around 5000 children were checked for their musical ability in advance. Schreiber's capable ensemble soon attracted national attention with performances of sophisticated contemporary compositions. Schreiber successfully opposed the attempt to attach the choir to a pioneer house. An intensive collaboration with the composer Friedrich Schenker began in 1980 . In 1982, however, there were burdens in Schreiber's relationship with the city of Leipzig. a. by prohibiting the performance of Schenker's Christmas motets. In March 1982 Schreiber's choir gave a concert in the small hall of the newly opened New Gewandhaus. a. Schenker's Che cantata was premiered. The then Gewandhaus director Karl Zumpe , who attended this concert, then drew the attention of the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister Kurt Masur to the choir. The artistic boost triggered in the city by the opening of the new house should also be continued in the choral work under optimal conditions. Masur found the potential for this in Schreiber's municipal children's choir and initiated an exchange between the two choirs, which took place literally overnight without notice. The previous Gewandhaus children's choir became the children's choir of the City of Leipzig, from which the Schola Cantorum Leipzig later emerged. Schreiber and his choir were appointed to head the “new” Gewandhaus children's choir, later a children's and youth choir. The work of the children's choir at the Leipzig Opera also ended with the “Choir Exchange in Leipzig”. The close collaboration with Friedrich Schenker continued over the next few years. As a result, the choir gave several world premieres. In 1988 the choir received the Leipzig City Art Prize . In 1992 Schreiber also took over the leadership of the Gewandhaus Choir. Until his serious illness in 1997 he was responsible for the artistic work of the Gewandhaus choirs.
After an interim period, during which Christian Fischer from the Leipzig University of Music , Frank-Steffen Elster and Uwe Witzel took over the choir work, Morten Schuldt-Jensen was hired as choir director of the Gewandhaus at the beginning of the 1999/2000 season . His assistant Frank-Steffen Elster, who was entrusted with extensive musical tasks under Ekkehard Schreiber, has been responsible for the daily work with the Gewandhaus Children's Choir since the 2004/2005 season, he has been the director of the choir since the 2004/2005 season. Elster, himself a former choir member, expanded the musical spectrum of the choir to include other styles such as film music, pop and jazz and set new priorities in the maintenance of romantic and contemporary choral literature as well as church music. In collaboration with director Philipp J. Neumann, he developed the choir's annual scenic projects.
rehearse
As a rule, the children's choir rehearses three times a week, including two total rehearsals of 3 or 2.5 hours and a register rehearsal of 2 hours each for each vocal group (alto I / II or soprano I / II). There are also additional rehearsals before concerts as well as group and individual voice training . The rehearsals will be conducted by Frank-Steffen Elster, and répétiteur is Walter Zoller , who succeeded Sophie Bauer, who is now the director of the Children's Opera Choir, Uwe Witzels and Ekkehard Meisters. The voice trainer is Constanze Herenz, who is also responsible for recruiting young talent. Twice a year, in the first week of the autumn and winter holidays, choir camps take place at different locations in the greater Leipzig area. In the choir camps, in addition to intensive rehearsals, interaction in the choir community is promoted through playful and sporting activities. In addition, alternatives to normal rehearsal situations such as self-study, scenic workshops or rehearsals by older choir members are realized within the framework of the choir camp.
The young choir rehearses once a week in two groups under the direction of Guido Mattausch, and the young singers also receive theory lessons from Maria Küstner and Sascha Hünermund once a week. A review of musical abilities is required for admission to the young choir. Admission to the concert choir takes place after an individual check by the children's choir director if appropriate in the second half of the 4th grade. The youth choir rehearses once a week under the direction of Frank-Steffen Elster. It consists of former children's choir members as well as choristers from other choirs with appropriate musical training.
All regular rehearsals take place in the Gewandhaus, but depending on the concert in the respective performance location.
Concert tours
Concert tours have taken the Gewandhaus children's choir to numerous European countries, e. B. to Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Estonia and Switzerland. The ensemble won prizes at international choir competitions and in 1990 took part in the Easter Festival in Salzburg and the Festival de Saint Denis in Paris. One of the outstanding events was the participation of the Gewandhaus Children's Choir in the international children's choir festival World of Children's Choirs in Vancouver (Canada) in 2001. In the summer of 2004 the Gewandhaus Children's Choir accepted an invitation to Estonia for the XXIV Estonian Nationwide Song Celebration Festival in Tallinn , combined with an exchange of choirs with the Estonian TV Children's Choir , as well as to concerts in Paide and as part of the Europa Cantat Singing Week Estonia 2004 in Tartu. In November 2006 the Gewandhaus Children's Choir took part in the 38th Certamen Coral de Tolosa and also gave concerts in Bilbao and San Sebastián. The joint project “Brundibár” in the Theresienstadt version in March 2009 together with the Moran Choir from Israel was significant . Under the patronage of Chancellor Angela Merkel , the children's opera was performed in the historically sound production by Philipp J. Neumann in the Gewandhaus and in the Jewish Museum Berlin . In advance, the children and adolescents u. a. Talks with contemporary witnesses took place with survivors who were involved in the performances of the opera in the Theresienstadt ghetto. The Theresienstadt Ghetto Memorial was also visited. In January 2010, the Gewandhaus Children's Choir made a return visit with performances in Rishon LeZion (Israel) on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Contemporary witnesses were also present here. The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial was also visited. There were also concerts in Beit Yitzhak and Herzlia . Documentation of the project was broadcast by the MDR , and the trip could also be followed on a weblog. In 2011 the choir performed at the 13th Shanghai International Art Festival . Sometimes it is necessary to reduce the number of choir members to a concert or travel cast, which is determined by means of an individual check by the children's choir director.
As part of a two-week trip to China in 2018, the children's choir visited places such as Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Wuhan and Beijing, where it inspired thousands of people. During this trip, especially in Sihui and Beijing, there was a cultural exchange between the children of the choir and the Chinese children.
Discography (selection)
| Title / work | Publishing year | composer | musical direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Symphony No. 9 in D minor | 1981 | Ludwig van Beethoven | Kurt Masur |
| Michelangelo Symphony | 1985 | Friedrich Schenker | Kurt Masur |
| Paul | 1988 | Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy | Kurt Masur |
| Peer Gynt (concert version) | 1989 | Edvard Grieg | Kurt Masur |
| The peace celebration / Danton fragments / Commedia per musica / ... into the endless | 1989 | Friedrich Schenker | Kurt Masur |
| Our Savior is born: Christmas wise men with the Gewandhaus children's and youth choir | 1991 | Various | Ekkehard Schreiber |
| Festive music from the Leipzig Gewandhaus: Unicef-Gala 1993 / Der Struwwelpeter | 1993 | Kurt Hessenberg | Ekkehard Schreiber |
| Symphony No. 9 in D minor | 1993 | Ludwig van Beethoven | Kurt Masur |
| Earth songs for solos, choir and orchestra | 1993 | Siegfried Thiele | Kurt Masur |
| St. Matthew Passion | 1995 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Günter Neuhold |
| St. Matthew Passion | 1998 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Georg Christoph Biller |
| the Christmas story | 2004 | Various | Frank-Steffen Elster |
| Brohm and Filuh | 2006 | Various | Frank-Steffen Elster |
| Beethoven - The Symphonies / Symphony No. 9 in D minor | 2011 | Ludwig van Beethoven | Riccardo Chailly |
| Mahler 8 - International Mahler Festival Leipzig 2011 (DVD) | 2011 | Gustav Mahler | Riccardo Chailly |
| There between ox and donkey - festive music for Advent and Christmas time (with the Leipzig Youth Symphony Orchestra ) | 2011 | Various | Ron-Dirk Entleutner, Frank-Steffen Elster |
| Max Reger: Complete chorale cantatas | 2016 | Max Reger | Frank-Steffen Elster , Gregor Meyer |
Varia
- The first concerts for the reopening of the Philippuskirche Leipzig in early May 2019 with the church sold out were presented by Martin Kohlstedt with the GewandhausChor under the direction of Gregor Meyer and the songwriter Gerhard Schöne with the Gewandhaus Children's Choir.
Web links
- Sound carrier in the catalog of the German National Library
- Official website of the choir
- Weblog about concert tours of the children's choir
- TV documentation of the MDR about the trip to Israel as part of the Brundibár project
- Homepage of the coach Walter Zoller
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gewandhaus Children's Choir Leipzig sings in Chinese at the Shanghai Arts Festival. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 27, 2014 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
