Thomas Berning

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Thomas Berning (2015)

Thomas Berning (born March 4, 1966 in Havixbeck ) is a German church musician and cathedral music director at the High Cathedral in Paderborn , conductor and university professor .

Life and professional activity

Thomas Berning studied Catholic church music at the Detmold University of Music from 1987 to 1992 . His teachers included Gerhard Weinberger (organ), Alexander Wagner, Georg Christoph Biller (choral conducting). From 1988 to 1992 he directed the St. Hedwig church choir , Bielefeld-Heepen and from 1990 to 1992 the choir of the Evangelical Reformed parish of Heiligenkirchen (Detmold). After his studies he was cantor at the Antoniuskirche in Herten (Westphalia) from 1992 to 1995 and from 1995 to 2006 district cantor of the Archdiocese of Freiburg at the Jesuit church in Heidelberg . From 1992 to 1995 he directed the Madrigal Choir Recklinghausen and founded the Vestische Kammerchor there . In Heidelberg he directed the concert choir of the Catholic city dean's office Cappella Palatina Heidelberg from 1995–2006 , and in Freiburg also the chamber choir Concerto Vocale (1994–1999).

As a concert organist, he was the first prize winner of the Gottfried Silbermann Organ Competition in 1993 . He initiated the new organ building project in the Jesuit Church in Heidelberg and is co-editor of the Freiburg organ book .

At Paderborn Cathedral , Berning has been the cathedral music director and director of the singing school at the High Cathedral in Paderborn (Johannes Hatzfeld House) since 2007 . He is a member of the Church Music Commission of the Archdiocese of Paderborn and the National Committee of the Pueri Cantores Choir Association . During his period of service, the cathedral music experienced structural innovations. These include the renovation of the House of Dommusik, the establishment of the girls' choir at the High Cathedral, the establishment of the Dommusik Circle of Friends and the establishment of a school cooperation with the Michaelsschulen Paderborn. With over 300 active singers now, Paderborn Cathedral Music is one of the largest institutions of its kind.

Under his leadership since 2007 are the Paderborn Cathedral Choir (Boys Choir), the Domkantorei Paderborn and the Schola Gregoriana at the Great Cathedral. In cathedral concerts he directed the performances of the major oratorical works by Johann Sebastian Bach , the oratorio L'Apocalypse selon St. Jean by Jean Françaix 2013, the Missa solemnis by Ludwig van Beethoven in 2015 and the rediscovered Missa a 16 by Antonio Maria Abbatini at the meeting of the German Bishops' Conference in 2012. Annual concert tours with his choirs have so far taken him a. a. to Israel, Malta, Rome, France and numerous German cathedrals . For the anniversary of the cathedral choir, he traveled to the USA with the cathedral choir in October 2015.

In 2008 the Philharmonic Society Paderborn (whose orchestra consists of members of the Lower Saxony State Orchestra Hanover and the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hanover) appointed him artistic director and conductor of its symphonic concerts.

Since 2017, Berning has been the conductor of the choir of the Städtischen Musikverein Gütersloh , succeeding Prof. Karl-Heinz Bloemeke.

In 2019, Berning headed the team for the organization of the "8th German Choir Festival Pueri Cantores 2019" in Paderborn, in which around 2700 children and young people from all over Germany took part.

In his concerts, Berning a. a. together with the Heidelberger Kantatenorchester, the Heidelberger Sinfoniker , the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and the baroque orchestras Concerto con anima, L'Arco Hannover, the Ensemble Schirokko Hamburg and the Karlsruher Barockorchester.

Thomas Berning has been teaching in higher education since 1992, first at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold , from 1996 to 2006 at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Heidelberg and since 2007 in the subject of score playing again at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold. He also received impulses for his artistic work in courses from Uwe Gronostay , Richard Wistreich and Andrea Marcon as well as in collaboration with renowned soloists and orchestras.

Berning is married to the singer Ina Siedlaczek and has five children.

Prizes / awards

  • 1993: 1st prize winner at the 1st International Gottfried Silbermann Organ Competition, Freiberg (Saxony)
  • 2017: 2nd prize (placement category: "Participated with very good success") at the NRW state choir competition with the male voices of the Paderborn cathedral choir (category: male choirs up to 35 members)

Recordings

Web links

Commons : Thomas Berning  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "We found a qualified musician in Domkapellmeister Berning". Archdiocese of Paderborn, accessed on October 23, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Prize winners. Gottfried Silbermann Society, accessed on October 23, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Brief biography of Thomas Berning. Paderborn Cathedral Music, accessed on October 23, 2018 .
  4. ^ Short biography of Thomas Berning. Städtischer Musikverein Gütersloh, accessed on October 23, 2018 .
  5. ↑ The team. In: 8th German Choir Festival Pueri Cantores 2019. Accessed on August 18, 2019 (German).
  6. ^ Vita - Domkapellmeister Thomas Berning. Paderborn Cathedral Music, accessed on October 23, 2018 .
  7. ↑ State choir competition NRW. Paderborn Cathedral Music, accessed on October 23, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Berning, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German church musician, cathedral music director at the High Cathedral in Paderborn, conductor and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH March 4th 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Havixbeck