Hamburg Boys Choir St. Nikolai
| Hamburg Boys Choir St. Nikolai | |
|---|---|
| Seat: | Hamburg / Germany |
| Carrier: | Main Church of St. Nikolai |
| Founding: | 1960 |
| Genus: | Boys' choir |
| Founder: | Horst Sellentin and Max Thurn |
| Head : | Rosemarie Pritzkat |
| Voices : | 60 ( SATB ) |
| Website : | http://www.hamburger-knabenchor.de |
The Hamburg Boys 'Choir St. Nikolai is a boys' choir that has existed since 1960 and takes its name from the Nikolaikirche in Harvestehude .
history
The Hamburg boys' choir St. Nikolai was originally founded in 1960 by the NDR under the name "Knabenchor des Norddeutschen Rundfunks" by Horst Sellentin and Max Thurn , for whom the choir recorded all of the Bach cantatas . In 1967 the radio separated from the choir, u. a. because of economical reasons. The boys' choir was renamed "Hamburger Knabenchor St. Nikolai". The association “Hamburger Knabenchor eV” became the new sponsor together with the Hamburg parish of St. Nikolai , which gave the choir a new home and concert venue. After the death of its founder in 1973, the choir was taken over by the Lurup cantor Ekkehard Richter. Church music director Rosemarie Pritzkat has been leading the boys' choir since 1991 . A boys 'choir school with over 100 boys' and young male voices was established under her leadership.
repertoire
In addition to demanding a cappella music , the choir, which comprises around 60 boys and men, regularly performs large choral works with an orchestra. His repertoire includes a. “ The Creation ” by Haydn , the Christmas Oratorio and the St. John Passion by Bach as well as the Requiem settings by Gabriel Fauré and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . In addition, the boy's voices are welcome guests in opera, concert and oratorio performances. This is how the boy's voices worked a. a. in Hans Werner Henze's “We Come To The River” and “ Mass ” ( Leonard Bernstein ) under Ingo Metzmacher and sang under Mstislav Rostropovich at the opening of the Usedom Music Festival in “ War Requiem ” ( Britten ).
education
The choir is divided into several pre-choirs and the main choir. The boys in the pre-choirs are introduced to the task of singing in front of a large audience. In addition, this training begins at pre-school age.
Guest trips
The concert activities of the boys' choir took the ensemble to England, Russia, Belgium, Luxembourg, the USA, the Czech Republic, China, South Africa, Sweden and Iceland. The boys' choir has received several awards, most recently at the International Children's and Youth Choir Competition in Shanghai in 2002 as the best foreign choir. Another trip took place in 2007 to South Korea.