A cappella music from the 16th to 21st century
The choir of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin was founded in 1975 by Peter Vagts and consists of students, employees of various faculties and institutes of the university as well as professionals, many of them graduates of the alma mater. Performances at the university, concerts at home and abroad and participation in national and international festivals and competitions have opened up a wide range of opportunities for the choir.
The repertoire consists mainly of works of a cappella literature from the 16th to 21st centuries, including compositions by almost all renowned European masters. Close personal contacts with composers have found expression in world premieres of works by Gunther Erdmann, Lothar Voigtländer, Hermann Josef Nellessen, Sylke Zimpel and others. Arrangements of German and international folk songs, mostly in the original language, as well as spirituals complete the choir's repertoire.
Since 1979, the choir has also worked on choral symphonic works with various orchestras, including the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Schumann's Requiem, Poulenc's Gloria, Mendelssohn's First Walpurgis Night, Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony have been performed with the symphony orchestras of the Humboldt University. A particular highlight in the choir's history was the two performances of Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony in the Berlin Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin under the direction of UMD Constantin Alex in February 2019 (on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of music at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) with the university's two large choirs and symphony orchestras and over 600 participants. In 2022 and 2023, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana was on the program twice, and in 2024 Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem again for four performances with various artistic partners.
Concert tours have taken the choir to Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the former USSR, as well as to Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Ukraine and Israel. In June 2014, the choir was awarded 2nd prize at the Cracovia Cantans festival choir competition in Kraków. The choir celebrated its 50th anniversary in June of this year with a festive concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin. The rehearsal work of the Humboldt University choir is supported by Maria Grimm as deputy choirmaster and by the vocal coaching work of Angela Wingerath, Christopher Bradley, Johanne Braun, June Telletxea, Paula Nilse, Andria Prokopa and Vera Kremers.
Carsten Schultze was born in Parchim (Mecklenburg) in 1967. He graduated from Humboldt University in Berlin in 1990 with a degree in music and history. In addition to his work as a teacher, he is the artistic director of several choirs, has given more than 600 concerts and performances during his almost 30 years as a choir director and has traveled to almost every country in Europe with his choirs.
Since 2000, he has worked as a music teacher, vocal coach and assistant choir director at the Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Gymnasium. In January 2002, he took over the direction of the Rundfunk-Kinderchor Berlin, which is based at this grammar school, and founded the girls' choir Canta Chiara. With the latter, he has won several first prizes and gold diplomas in recent years, including in Kraków 2014, Neerpelt 2016, Preveza 2017 and Riva del Garda 2018. Both choirs regularly take part in choral symphonic concert performances by the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. From 1996 to 2016, Carsten Schultze was chairman of the Chorjugend im Chorverband Berlin e.V. and, in this position, carried out many concert projects with Berlin children's and youth choirs.
Carsten Schultze has been a member of the choir at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin since he began his studies in 1985. In 1999, he also took on the role of deputy choirmaster. He has been the choir's artistic director since January 2008. Since 2012, he has directed the Herrenhaus male ensemble, which is made up of ambitious choral singers from other performance-oriented amateur choirs in Berlin and is dedicated to cultivating the male choral tradition. As a lecturer for the Berlin Choral Association, Carsten Schultze is active in the training and further education of choir conductors.
The program includes works by Johannes Brahms, Hugo Distler, Knut Nystedt, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Imant Raminsh and others.
Admission:
Normal 10€ | Reduced 6€ | Klangkarte6 €
Photo from the choir archive
