MDR RADIO CHOIR
Whenever major orchestras in Germany or abroad plan to perform a choral work the MDR RADIO CHOIR comes right at the top of their list. As the largest concert choir within the German Broadcasting Corporation (ARD), the MDR RADIO CHOIR is widely regarded as one of the best.
The foundations for this high calibre were laid by Herbert Kegel, something of which his successors have always been mindful. Conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Marriner, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, Georges Prêtre and Sir Roger Norrington have all paid homage to the ensemble. The choir performs regularly with the MDR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA and its chief conductor, Jun Märkl.
Regular highly acclaimed a cappella performances demonstrate the choir’s expertise beyond choral symphonic works. In this context the choir has been hosting vocal voyages of discovery three times a year in its series "Nachtgesang" in the Peterskirche, Leipzig since 2004. Sacred music, choral symphonic works and operatic choruses complete a repertoire that encompasses practically a millennium of musical history. Moreover, numerous world premieres attest to the 73 choir members' reputation as a specialised ensemble for contemporary music. A long tradition of school concerts and music making with children is being continued by the MDR RADIO CHOIR in its cooperation with the MDR's education network CLARA, founded in 2009.
Since 1998 Howard Arman has been conductor and artistic director of the choir. An illustrious line of predecessors includes Herbert Kegel, Horst Neumann, Jörg-Peter Weigle and Gert Frischmuth. Nearly 200 records and CDs – many of them award-winning – have been recorded by the ensemble in its 80-year history. Broadcast worldwide by the European Broadcasting Union, on tour or in guest appearances, the MDR RADIO CHOIR has become a musical ambassador for Leipzig and all of central Germany.