Universitätschor Dresden

Dresden University Choir e.V. is one of the oldest cultural ensembles at TU Dresden. Founded with the rebuilding of the university following WWII, the choir with its diverse program has been a mainstay of cultural life at the university and in the City of Dresden for over sixty years. A healthy blend of young students and seasoned alumni lend the choir a fresh yet mature sound.

Universitätschor Dresden in der Besetzung von 2013

In order to bridge the musical spectrum between chamber music a capella pieces and large-scale choral symphonic works, the choir rehearses in its joint form but also as a small ensemble. And so the choir is dedicated both to the cultivation of rarely played Baroque music as well as contemporary musical traditions. In the choral symphonic realm, the ensemble takes the middle path between the presentation of large but rarely performed works and concerts with famous, widely recognized composers.

In assuming leadership of the ensemble in the summer of 2012, young conductor Christiane Büttig was able to further hone the choir's musical profile, an undertaking her predecessor Maja Sequeira had pursued previously over two decades. Under the leadership of Christiane Büttig, the choir performed Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem and “Song of Fate”, Joseph Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Giochina Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. In addition to these classical choral works, the ensemble has also performed rarer pieces such as Zemlinsky’s “Psalm 83”.

In its chamber choir form, the choir rehearsed and performed with great success an ambitious program with double-choir motets in the Venetian style of the early Baroque. The concert series Regel|Freiheit (English: “Rule|Freedom”) was also started, which pursues a clever dialogue between classical and contemporary music. In this context, a program comprising works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, John Cage, Paul Hindemith and Louis Andriessen was performed. This concert series was continued in 2014 under the topic “Circles” with pieces from Johannes Brahms, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Ludwig Spohr and Ernst Krenek.

The choir’s profile also includes international cooperation and study academies. While Christiane Büttig led the choir’s first jazz academy in the summer of 2013, December of the same year saw a cooperation with the Copenhagen orchestra SymfUni. Again in this context, the choir remained true to its commitment to combine the familiar with the unfamiliar, the old with the new: Listeners were treated to a Christmas program with compositions by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Lars-Erik Larsson.

Further information on Universitätschor Dresden

Rehearsals Large choir: Wednesdays 6:45 pm - 9:15 pm
Rehearsals will take place at different locations. Current information is available on the website.

Chamber choir: Tuesdays 6:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
The rehearsal locations will be determined on a project-by-project basis and announced on the Internet or during the rehearsals of the Great Choir.

Rehearsal break in July and August (depending on the summer holidays)
Contact Postal address:
Universitätschor Dresden
Technische Universität Dresden
01062 Dresden

Contact:
Stefanie Telschow
Tel.: +49 (0) 351 46334143
E-Mail: office@unichor-dresden.de

Artistic director: Christiane Büttig
E-Mail: christiane.buettig@unichor-dresden.de

Executive Board (contact vorstand@unichor-dresden.de):
Chairman: Luise Andreas
Vice chairman: Sebastian Wagner
Finances: Antje Noack
Project manager: Franziska Strehlow, Anton Hoyer, Clemens Hochmuth, Florian Gliech
Website http://www.unichor-dresden.de/
Performance modalities

In addition to pursuing its own projects, the choir attaches great importance to cooperation with other organisers.

The choir's spectrum of experience includes opera production, sound recordings and performances at congresses and company events. A rich a cappella repertoire is available for the latter area, such as a folk song programme, a Christmas programme with European Christmas songs or a madrigal programme with chamber choirs.

The amount of the fee depends on the effort required for rehearsals and performances as well as on the number of singers taking part (between 25 and 80 people).

For large ensembles, choir steps or podiums are necessary, as well as a sufficiently large room for changing clothes and singing in. The choir can be used flexibly for a-cappella performances.

Interested parties can contact the board of directors or the artistic director, Mrs. Büttig.