Mitsingkonzert with the Rundfunkchor Berlin

Simon Halsey occupies a unique position in classical music. He is the trusted advisor on choral singing to the world’s greatest conductors, orchestras and choruses; as an ambassador for choral singing to amateurs of every age, ability and background he has led ground-breaking massed choral events, notably for New York’s Lincoln Center.

Making singing a central part of the world-class institutions with which he is associated, he has been instrumental in changing the level of symphonic singing across Europe. He holds positions across the UK and Europe as Chorus Director of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Principal Guest Conductor and Choral Ambassador of Orfeó Català, Principal Guest Conductor at WDR Rundfunkchor, Conductor Laureate of Rundfunkchor Berlin, Choral Director Emeritus of London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and Professor and Director of Choral Activities at University of Birmingham. His work is the subject of the documentary film Unsere Herzen – Ein Klang (Our Hearts – One Sound), which was released to cinemas in September 2022.

He is also a highly respected teacher and academic, nurturing the next generation of choral conductors on his post-graduate course in Birmingham and through masterclasses in Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA. He holds four honorary doctorates from universities in the UK, and in 2011 Schott Music published his book and DVD on choral conducting, Chorleitung: Vom Konzept zum Konzert.

Halsey’s numerous awards include three Grammys for his recordings with the Rundfunkchor Berlin. He was made Commander of the British Empire in 2015, was awarded The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2014, and received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2011 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to choral music in Germany.

Born in London, Simon Halsey sang in the choirs of New College, Oxford, and of King’s College, Cambridge and studied conducting at the Royal College of Music in London. In 1987, he founded with Graham Vick the Birmingham Opera Company. He was Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir from 1997 to 2008 and Principal Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia’s Choral Programme from 2004 to 2012. From 2001-2015 he led the Rundfunkchor Berlin (of which he is now Conductor Laureate); under his leadership the chorus gained a reputation internationally as one of the finest professional choral ensembles. Halsey also initiated innovative projects in unconventional venues and interdisciplinary formats.

During her Singing training Anna opted for a multi-faceted approach that would lead her to perform operatic, symphonic and chamber repertoire from Renassaince until the Romantic, even contemporary creations. Thus, while attending the “Hans Eisler” Musikhochschule in Berlin she received artistic guidance from Anneliese Fried, Wolfram Rieger, KS Prof. Brigitte Fassbaender, KS Prof. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, KS Bernarda Fink, KS Prof. Thomas Quasthoff, KS Thomas Hampson and Cornelius L. Reid, Emma Kirkby, Andrew King, Al Ayre Español, Andrea Marchiol, Raphael Alpermann, Mireia Pintó and María González.

She was awarded with the 1st Prize at the Singing Competition Joan Massià 2005, the 2nd Prize at the P.A. Cesti Singing Competition for Baroque Opera 2010, the 2nd Prize at the International Competition for the Art Song Stuttgart 2010 next to the pianist Alexander Fleischer. She also received scholarships from the Humboldt Foundation, the Caja Madrid (Spain) and the DAAD.

She performed tens of roles including Romeo (“I Capuleti e i Montecchi”), Angelina (“La Cenerenola”), Rosina (“Il barbiere di Siviglia”), Donna Elvira (“Don Giovanni”), Cherubino (“Le nozze di Figaro”), Annio (“La Clemenza di Tito”), Dritte Dame (“Die Zauberflöte”), Dido (“Dido and Aeneas”), Diana (“La Calisto”), Siébel (“Faust”), L’enfant (“L’enfant et les sortilèges”), Kater (“Der gestiefelte Kater”), Simplicius (“Simplicius Simplicissimus”), Rita (“Rita”), Proserpina and La Messaggiera (“L’Orfeo”), Clarisse (“L’amour des trois oranges”) and Armelinde (“Cendrillon”) on several stages, such as, i.a., the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Landestheater Linz, Theater Heidelberg, the Winteroper Potsdam, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real (Madrid), Auditorio Nacional, Palacio de la Ópera La Coruña, Ópera de Oviedo, Teatre Principal de Palma de Mallorca, Teatro Arriaga, next to inspiring artists such as Susan Graham, Roberto Alagna, Linda Watson, Barbara Frittoli, Marc Minkowski, Thomas Hengelbrock, Markus Poschner, Konrad Junghanel, Corrado Rovaris, David Afkham, Diego Martin-Etxebarria, Achim Freyer, Robert Carsen, La Fura dels Baus, Joan Anton Rechi, Lindsay Kemp or David McVicar.

Due to her commitment to young composers she took part on many operas and song cycles premieres, but soon she also aroused the interest of the Baroque scene where she performed next to the Belgian Baroque Orchestra Ghent, Collegium 1704, Musica Florea, La Chimera, Vespres d’Arnadí, Ensemble Daimonion, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, Academia 1750, among others, at the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, Musikfestspiele Potsdam, Davos Festival, Music Bridge Prague-Dresden, WDR 3 Concerto Discreto, Teatro Arriaga, Festival de Música Antiga dels Pirineus, Festival Intl de Torroella de Montgrí and the Festival Castell de Peralada.

Within her work as a soloist, she has acquired a broad concert and oratorio repertoire, which led her to the Berliner Philarmonie, Ópera National de Bordeaux, Heidelberger Frühling, Hirschberger Liedfest, Würzburg Lied Festival, the Berliner Konzerthaus, Glinka Hall (St. Petersburg), Palau de la Música Catalana, L’Auditori (Barcelona) or the Schubertíada de Vilabertran, where she appeared alongside pianists as Wolfram Rieger or Alexander Fleischer, and the Staatskapelle Weimar, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona, Orquesta Sinfónica de Gran Canaria, Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, the Bruckner Orchester Linz, the Nürnberg Philharmonic, the Orquesta Nacional de España, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, among others.

She also participated in radio and television recordings for Bayerischer Rundfunk, DeutschlandRadio, COM Radio, Catalunya Música, the International TV Channel from Portugal or RNE Radio Clásica, as well as several recordings for Editorial L’Avenç (Folklore National Award 2012), Discmedi (Best Classical Album 2015 Enderrock Critics Award, Ficta Edicions, Seed Music, Naxos Records and Sony Classical.

Anglo-German tenor Kieran Carrel has a busy and varied career, active in Opera, Concert and Recital.
As a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, his repertoire includes Tamino; Don Ottavio; Walther Tannhäuser; Erik Der fliegende Holländer; Froh Das Rheingold; Narraboth Salome; Alfred Die Fledermaus; Count Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia and Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Concert highlights in the current season and beyond include Mendelssohn Lobgesang with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Diego Fasolis; a recording and tour of Schumann Das Paradies und die Peri with Jordi Savall; Bach Weihnachtsoratorium with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and Evangelist in both the St John Passion with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Reuss and St Matthew Passion with the Noord Nederlands Orkest and Hartmut Haenchen.

Recent concerts include Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Thomanerchor Leipzig; Evangelist Bach St John Passion with The English Concert and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Das Paradies und die Peri in Utrecht with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kieran made his recital debut at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin in 2019 as part of the Heidelberger Frühling Schubert Week with Thomas Hampson and Hartmut Höll and in the same year was a finalist in the Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera International Song Competition, together with duo partner Richard Gowers. He recently performed a Schubert programme with Kristian Bezuidenhout at the 2024 MA Festival in Brugge and appeared at the Luxembourg Philharmonie with Graham Johnson. His connection to the Pierre Boulez Saal and Wigmore Hall continues with solo recitals in both halls, and, in addition, he has appeared at Wigmore Hall in a Hugo Wolf Song Gala with Christoph Prégardien and James Baillieu: sung Haydn canzonettas with András Schiff and Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music with the Nash Ensemble.

Kieran has taken part in a complete Brahms Lieder disc with Ulrich Eisenlohr on NAXOS and other recordings include Mozart’s Requiem with Il Gardellino; CPE Bach’s Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu; Wolf Italienisches Liederbuch and Schumann Dichterliebe with Ensemble Opus and Ralf Gothoni.

Kieran studied in Cologne with Christoph Prégardien before continuing his education at London’s Royal Academy of Music with Neil Mackie.

With around 60 concerts annually, CD recordings, and international performances, the Rundfunkchor Berlin is one of the world’s leading choirs. Three Grammy Awards alone stand as a testament to the quality of its recordings. Its wide-ranging repertoire, flexible, richly nuanced sound, flawless precision, and compelling presence make the professional choir a partner of choice for prominent orchestras and conductors, including Kirill Petrenko, Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In Berlin, the choir has an intense collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, as well as with their chief conductors.

The Rundfunkchor Berlin also attracts international attention with its interdisciplinary projects, which break the traditional concert format and offer new ways of experiencing choral music. A milestone was the staged interpretation of Brahms’ Requiem as a “human requiem” by Jochen Sandig and a team from Sasha Waltz & Guests. After performances in New York, Hong Kong, Paris, and Adelaide, the production traveled to Istanbul for the first time in the summer of 2019. For the project LUTHER dancing with the gods, the choir reflected on Luther’s impact on the arts and within the arts in a genre-defying concert performance with Robert Wilson and music by Bach, Nystedt, and Reich. For TIME TRAVELLERS, the choir will transform the Berliner Radialsystem into a walkable time tunnel in the 2019/2020 season. Based on Jonathan Dove’s composition The Passing of the Year, the project will create an interactive choral experience with films, images, performance, and music.

Through its community projects targeting diverse audiences – such as the large sing-along concert at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Festival of Choral Cultures for choirs from around the world, and the Song Market for Berlin students – the Rundfunkchor Berlin aims to inspire as many people as possible to sing. Its comprehensive educational program SING! focuses on the sustainable networking of various partners to promote singing as a natural part of Berlin’s elementary school curriculum. With the Academy and Schola, as well as the International Master Class Berlin, the ensemble is committed to nurturing the next generation of professional singers and conductors.

Founded in 1925, the Rundfunkchor Berlin celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2015. The choir has been shaped by conductors such as Helmut Koch, Dietrich Knothe (1982–93), Robin Gritton (1994–2001), and Simon Halsey (2001–2015). Since the 2015/16 season, Dutch conductor Gijs Leenaars has been the chief conductor and artistic director of the ensemble. Simon Halsey remains connected to the choir as an honorary conductor and guest conductor. The Rundfunkchor Berlin is an ensemble of the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin, under the sponsorship of Deutschlandradio, the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Berlin, and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg.