Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie
as the sponsor's orchestra

Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie, photo: Peter Meisel

Passing on the traditions: Professionals will train the young orchestra musicians

The youngest among them are just 11 years old, at 20 they already belong to the "old ones" here - and yet they are already playing on the major international stages and festivals such as the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein and the Cologne Philharmonie, the Grand Auditorium in Luxembourg and the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and Young Euro Classic in Berlin.

The orchestra members of the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie (DSP) regularly impress audiences and the specialist press alike with the high quality and excellence of their playing. The intensive work of the teachers from the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin with the individual voice groups ensures the characteristic, extremely homogeneous string sound of the ensemble, whose artistic direction has been in the hands of principal conductor Wolfgang Hentrich, first concertmaster of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, since 2013.

The participants qualify by means of an audition to which the DSP regularly invites them - to Berlin and also digitally, which makes it even easier to reach the highly talented young string players in all 16 federal states. Many RSB members once played in the youngest German selection orchestra themselves - so the tradition between the two oﬃcially Jeunesses Musicales-certiﬁed sponsor orchestras has been passed on for 50 years now.

Among the many highlights in its anniversary year 2023 - its 50th birthday - the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie is particularly pleased to receive the prestigious Würth Prize. The young musicians also look back with pride on their participation in the award-winning Hollywood film "Tár", which was released in German cinemas in March.

"You could almost say at a DSP concert: The little RSB string players are playing."(Volkmar Weiche, RSB cellist)

Tradition for the future

When the members of the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie come together from all over the Federal Republic of Germany six to seven times a year to rehearse together and then go on a concert tour, they work as in a professional orchestra. Since its founding in 1973, this elite orchestra has been training highly gifted young string players in orchestral playing. The regular section rehearsals, which are conducted from the beginning by lecturers from the RSB and precede every overall orchestra rehearsal, are unique in the work of the youth orchestra. With this intensive work, the sponsors from the RSB set standards for their potential future colleagues and contribute to ensuring that the high quality of musical education in Germany is a priority in the professional orchestras.

During their six-year training period in the DSP, the young musicians learn how an orchestra, the interaction, and a friendly cooperation in the professional field works. The exquisite concert venues where the DSP performs and the outstanding soloists with whom the orchestra plays are also highly motivating for the "apprentices". The long tradition of this demanding outreach work pays off: Many former members of the DSP have earned positions in the best orchestras in Germany.

Education for diversity

Not only the members of the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie benefit from the continuous work of the artistic management team of RSB lecturers and chief conductors. As part of the regular rehearsals and concert tours of the DSP through Germany and Europe as well as to foreign countries, workshops and concerts are held in which musicians from the DSP and from the host country share the podium. Valuable musical impulses are rendered possible in this way. The invitation to talented young foreign orchestra musicians to participate in a regular working phase of the DSP in Germany is another building block in the versatile placement-related work with a broad reach.

Through public workshops and rehearsals, many children and adolescents can reach the audience. Often, they are so enthusiastic about the skill and enthusiasm of the same age DSP members that it inspires their own musical education. In the concerts of the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie, a new format of children's and family concerts is planned to attract even more young people in the future.