"Sounds of Heaven"

More than in almost any other genre, great opera composers have written works for the church, whether for ensembles featuring a choir and orchestra or in smaller formats with a soloist accompanied by the organ. At the same time, these very same composers have incorporated elements of church music into their grand opera compositions. The young, up-and-coming baritone Andreas Elias Post—a true “Düsseldorf native”—and the Elberfeld concert organist Thorsten Andreas Pech offer a cross-section of this musical tradition through their program series “Himmelstöne” (Sounds of Heaven). From the late Classical period, represented by Ludwig van Beethoven, to the late Romantic era of Pietro Mascagni, the “greats” of opera and church composition come together in this program to create an atmospheric and varied sequence of works.

Baritone Andreas Elias Post earned his diploma and master’s degree in voice in Detmold and Düsseldorf under Prof. Gerhild Romberger, Prof. Konrad Jarnot, and KS Prof. Mario Zeffiri. In addition to his love of opera, sacred music and recitals are his great passions. Following engagements at the Cologne Chamber Opera, the Greek Opera Studio, and the Alltagsoper Berlin—including roles as “Figaro” and “Don Giovanni”—guest engagements took him to the Bielefeld Theater and, in 2017, to the Schloss Britz Summer Opera Festival in Berlin. He is currently a member of the opera studio at the Landestheater Detmold. During the 2018–19 season, he appeared at the Theater Hagen, among other venues. In 2022, he made his debut as Falke in *Die Fledermaus*. During the 2021–22 season, Andreas Elias Post sang the role of Cascada in “The Merry Widow” at the Landestheater Detmold; he is currently appearing in “Don Giovanni—The Hour of the Women” and this summer at the “Domstufen-Festspiele” in Erfurt.

Born in 1960 in Wtal Elberfeld, Thorsten Andreas Pech has been active as a concert organist, conductor, choir director, and cantor for nearly five decades. After earning his cantor’s degree in 1980 and completing his studies in concert organ performance (degree in 1983), he was drawn to Vienna to train as a conductor (degree in 1985). He has remained a musician at home and abroad, whether as a concert organist—for example, in China, Japan, Poland, Russia, and neighboring Western European countries—or as a conductor of oratorios and symphonic works. Nevertheless, Thorsten A. Pech has remained true to his Rhineland roots—from 1977 to 2025, he served as a full-time cantor and organist, From 1989 to 2021, he served as artistic director of the Bachverein Düsseldorf, and from 2003 to 2025 as choir director and conductor of the Wuppertal Concert Choir. Furthermore, Thorsten Pech, who now lives in Weimar, works as a freelance concert organist and guest conductor both nationally and internationally; he is also active as a composer and arranger of numerous musical works (published by various publishers). In recognition of his many years of work across regional boundaries, Thorsten A. Pech was named “Music Director” by the Professional Association of German Choir Directors in 1998; in 2016, he was a recipient of the Enno and Christa Springmann Foundation Award.