The Oldenburg Chamber Choir was formed in 1986 by director of music Johannes von Hoff, and has developed into one of Germany’s leading chamber choirs. The choir’s outstanding musical and numerous interpretative concerts and international tours have borne witness to the choir’s outstanding work, as have performances on radio and CD. Since September 2024, Lukas Henke has succeeded Johannes von Hoff as director of the choir.
The choir has enjoyed success at a number of national and international competitions. As well as first prizes at regional (Lower Saxony) and national competitions in Germany, the choir has also won prizes at international competions in Riva del Garda (1992, 2011), Budapest (1993), Marktoberdorf (1999), Cork (2003), Tolosa (2007) and Maasmechelen (2013).
Tours to Denmark, Spain, Canada, Ecuador and Poland have further strengthened the choir’s reputation.
In December 2017 the Oldenburg Chamber Choir was invited to a concert in the Eglise Notre-Dame du Sablon in Brussels by the Representation of the Government of Lower Saxony in the EU.
As well as demanding sacred and profane a-cappella literature, the choir performs a significant amount of modern music, and has premiered a number compositions, such as a cycle of songs by Heinrich Poos und works by the polish composers Jakub Neske and Katarzyna Danel.
The oratorios of Bach, Händel and Telemann are also part of the choir’s repertoire, as are the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi and Brahms. Performances of such works are given in cooperation with renowned soloists and professional orchestras.
The Oldenburg Chamber Choir consists of around 40 singers, who meet once a week for rehearsal. Lukas Henke explains the importance of the rehearsals for the singers: „To be able to rehearse with this wonderful choir is a blessing. In this way, the music can settle in peace, connections can be made in detail and all singers have the time and thus the chance to tune in harmony together. All if this is the basis for meaningful and top-class concerts. “
The Singers:
Soprano:
Annette Belling, Lina Blum, Ulrike Folch-Bönisch, Bettina Heno, Christiane Herrmann, Katharina Heuwagen, Marietta Jobmann, Imke Kasten, Annette Pritschow, Ute Röller, Jennifer Spormann
Alto:
Birgit Adlung, Katja Bergström, Elisabeth Fabarius, Gabriele Hoeltzenbein, Christiane Vosgerau, Dorothee Kramer, Bettina Lindt, Larissa Schween, Birgit Stangneth
Tenor:
Ralf Kleffner, Marc Nitschmann, Marco Pritschow, Oliver Retz, Robin Schicke, Albert Sill, Winfried Strybny, Otto Willich
Bass:
Thomas Bogon, Reinhard Dick, Manuel Fürstenberg, Dietrich Hein, Friedemann Michalek, Niklas Schreiber, Jens Sturm, Simon Weihe
