Philharmonischer Kinderchor Dresden
Biography Philharmonischer Kinderchor Dresden
Philharmonischer Kinderchor Dresden
The children’s choir owes its establishment in 1967 to an initiative by the Dresden Philharmonic’s Principal Conductor of the time, Kurt Masur, and can therewith look back on a history of over fifty years. The Dresden Philharmonic Children’s Choir is one of Germany’s best known and most successful children’s choirs today. The continuous professional work with the children is supported by a close cooperation with the Dresden Philharmonic. The multi-faceted musical spectrum extends from the Renaissance to 21st century works and is also presented in joint concerts time and again.
The choir’s a capella repertoire can be experienced across Germany and internationally, with highly successful tours most recently leading it to important concert halls in China, South Africa and nortehrn Germany, and trips to the USA and Canada being planned for 2019/2020. Amongst other places, the choir can look back on concerts and workshops in Australia, Africa, the USA, United Arab Emirates and Japan. Radio, film and television productions round off the choir’s varied activities along with many CD recordings.
The choir's high level of artistic achievement is based on intensive and comprehensive training. This can already start at a pre-school age, with children able to join from the age of five and then learn how to work with their voice, with rhythms and notes.
The first two years start off in a playful manner, after which the learning outcomes are incrementally enhanced until the child can sing along in the large children’s choir at the approximate age of ten, take part in concert tours and master the entire range of the children’s choir’s repertoire. The careful training fosters every child and challenges them to demonstrate their skills. At this moment in time, around 140 children are singing in the various formations of the choir, which has been under the management of Choir Director Prof. Gunter Berger since 2012.
The Philharmonic Children’s Choir has garnered first prizes in many national and international competitions. In its home town of Dresden, it also hosts the “International Children’s Choir Festival”, which takes place every two years.
