June 27 – 30, 2024 | Berlin, Germany

The Grand Finale …
A special highlight on June 30, the last day of the CHORALSPACE Summer Festival 2024:
The joint performance of 900 participants with Verdi Requiem conducted by Sergi Gili Solé at the Philharmonie Berlin.

Giuseppe Verdi
Messa da Requiem

Peters Edition

Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, also known as Messa da Requiem, is one of the most significant works in choral music and stands as a masterpiece of the 19th century. Verdi composed the Requiem as a memorial tribute to the revered Italian writer and poet Alessandro Manzoni. The work premiered on May 22, 1874, at the San Marco Church in Milan, and three days later, it was repeated at La Scala. It won immediate contemporary success.
Verdi’s Requiem combines majestic choral movements with poignant solo passages, creating an unparalleled musical experience that takes listeners on a journey through the depths of the human soul, from profound grief to radiant hope.

Program

Giuseppe Verdi – Messa da Requiem
Requiem
Dies irae
Offertory
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Lux aeterna
Libera me

Soloists

Iwona Sobotka (soprano)
Alexandra Urquiola (mezzo-soprano)
Andrés Moreno García (tenor)
Gerard Farreras (bass)

Staatsorchester
Rheinische Philharmonie

The Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, with its over 350-year history, is the philharmonic flagship of the city of Koblenz and the entire region. Founded in 1654 as the Fürstbischöfliche Hofkapelle, the ensemble has been under the auspices of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 1973. Together, the musicians of the Rheinische Philharmonie consistently demonstrate that a classical symphony orchestra can offer exciting program concepts and captivating concert experiences in today’s time. Tours within Germany and abroad, participation in international festivals, radio and CD productions attest to the orchestra’s good reputation and make it a highly regarded guest in major concert halls in Germany and Europe.

Stage choirs
Gürzenich-Chor Köln, Konzertchor Friedenau Berlin, Universitätschor Koblenz

The Gürzenich Chor Köln was founded in 1827 and is nowadays the choir with the richest choral tradition in the city of Cologne. The choir consists of ambitious amateur singers is looking back on a long history with concerts performed among others by guest-conductors as Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Brahms, Max Bruch end Richard Strauss.
The choir fosters tradition by performing the great oratorios accompanied by orchestras as well as a-capella literature. Under the artistic leadership of Christian Jeub the Gürzenich Chor feels obliged to a high artistic level enriching the cultural live in Cologne.
The choir is giving scholarships to young singers educated by professional singing teachers. Workshops with famous guest-conductors as Simon Carrington, Gary Graden and Frieder Bernius are part of the choir program as well as concert tours to leading concert halls in Europe.

The Konzertchor Friedenau has existed since 1987 and counts around 100 permanent members. Under the direction of Sergi Gili Solé, the choir has performed major choral works, oratorios and secular literature. The group and individual work of the singers with the vocal trainer and soloist Merlind Constanze Pohl also contributes to this.
An important part of the musical commitment are the public rehearsals for the sing projects by the Rundfunkchor Berlin and CHORALSPACE.
The choir is also an entity of the Schöneberg nachbarschaftsheimesneighborhood home, which sees itself in the tradition of the global movement of “settlements” and “neighborhood centers”. The charitable goal is to promote health, social and cultural work in the district.
A selection of choral works performed are Messiah (Georg Friedrich Handel), Gloria (Antonio Vivaldi), Messa di Gloria (Giacomo Puccini), The Creation (Joseph Haydn), Carmina Burana (Karl Orff), The Armed Man (Karl Jenkins).

“More than a choir of students” is how the Rheinzeitung headlines one of the many reviews. The Universitätschor Koblenz was founded by Prof. Heinz Anton Höhnen over 25 years ago. Since then, the choir has attracted attention with its youthful, dynamic interpretations of many great works of choral literature such as Brahms’s “Ein deutsches Requiem”, Rossini’s “Petite messe solennelle”, Dvorak’s “Stabat Mater”, Tippett’s “Child of our time”, Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms”, Poulenc’s “Gloria” or the world premiere Bob Ingalls “Mother Earth cries out” (2018). A special highlight in 2022 was the performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide”, Loriot version, with the Rheinische Philharmonie State Orchestra under the direction of Christian Jeub in the Philharmonie Köln. Since 2016, the choir is led by Christian Jeub.

Sergi Gili Solé
Conductor

Sergi Gili Sole is a conductor with a vast and varied experience in conducting both choirs and orchestras. Mr. Solé graduated from the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) and studied choral conducting, orchestral conducting, and accompaniment at the Universität der Künste (UdK) in Berlin with well-known names such as Prof. Lutz Köhler, Prof. Kai-Uwe Jirka, Prof. Harry Lyth, and Prof. Patrick Walliser. Since completing his studies, Mr. Solé has been broadly anchored in the choir scene through a wide variety of engagements and has created a successful tradition on preparing the choirs and singers for the Sing Along projects of the Berlin Radio Choir. Currently, he conducts the Berliner Cappella, the Ensamble Encanto and the Friedenau Konzertchor.

Schedule of the project

JUNE 27, 2024
15:00 – 17:30 Choir and Piano Rehearsal 1 (all participants) at Fontane-House
18:30 – 21:00 Choir and Piano Rehearsal 2 (all participants) at Fontane-House

JUNE 28, 2024
14:00 – 15:45 Choir and Piano Rehearsal 3 (all participants) at the Philharmonie Berlin
16:00 – 17:30 Choir and Piano Rehearsal 4 (all participants) at the Philharmonie Berlin

JUNE 29, 2024
10:00 – 13:00 Choir and Orchestra Rehearsal (all participants + soloists) at the Philharmonie Berlin

JUNE 30, 2024
09:30 Placement and acoustic check at the Philharmonie Berlin
11:00 Concert at the Philharmonie Berlin

Overview of costs
for performers and friends

The participation fee for the four-day project and the concert including access to all concerts of the fringe program is EUR 98.00.
Non-performing accompanying persons are offered a reduced participation fee of EUR 55.00 per person that includes access to all rehearsals, to the concerts of the fringe program and a ticket in the best category for the concert at the Philharmonie Berlin.

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Registration

The places for performers are fully booked.
Please join our Waiting List for short term opportunities and we will contact you as soon as performer tickets are available.
Audience tickets are available at our Online Ticket Box.

Please consider joining us for the other Singing Projects of the 2024 Season:
Mendelssohn/Gounod Project, June 23 to 26, 2024
At the Opera, October 24 to 27, 2024

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Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any question or comments.