A total of 10 ensembles ensure a lively musical presence at the Folkwang University of the Arts. All ensembles work continuously and with changing line-ups. Below you will find more information about the ensembles.
The Symphony Orchestra of the Folkwang University of the Arts consists of members of all instrumental classes. Budding professional musicians work on works from all stylistic periods. The orchestra has existed since the Folkwang School was founded in 1927.
> To the digital orchestra board
The Folkwang University of the Arts Chamber Orchestra is an ensemble that focuses on Baroque and Classical works as well as more modern literature as part of the ensemble work at Folkwang. Due to the smaller instrumentation, a conductor is not required in some cases, but soloists or concertmasters lead the orchestra.
Compared to a symphony orchestra, the rather slender sound is particularly suitable for collaboration with soloists. Playing in a chamber orchestra is like playing chamber music in an orchestral setting. During rehearsals and performances, the young musicians at the Folkwang University of the Arts engage in an intensive personal exchange with soloists and conductors, from whose rich international experience they can learn. For this reason, the chamber orchestra's projects are preferably realized with guests and guest professors as well as selected soloists from the ranks of the university, who present themselves at the concerts.
The Folkwang BAROCK ensemble brings together students from the Early Music department at the Folkwang University of the Arts twice a semester. The instrumentation is variable and the repertoire ranges from chamber music to large orchestral literature of the 17th and 18th centuries. Historical performance practice on original instruments is made audible at public concerts. The group's instrumental teachers take it in turns to lead the ensemble.
The Folkwang BRASS BAND was founded in the winter semester of 2005 to support and promote brass training. It is the first brass band at a German university of music. Its first performances included four international soccer matches, during which it played the national anthems. The director of the Folkwang BRASS BAND is Prof. Christopher Houlding.
There are various choral ensembles at the Folkwang University of the Arts, each of which has different tasks, focuses and goals. The choral singing lessons include the following areas: choral voice training, sight-singing, singing ear training, choral practice, repertoire studies, presentation of the results of work in the context of internal music lessons and public concert projects.
The Folkwang KONZERTCHOR is made up of students who are interested in ensemble singing, vocal and artistic challenges and a wide range of styles over and above the requirements of their degree course. This vocal ensemble consists of 16 to 40 singers, depending on the project and program. The repertoire includes works from early vocal polyphony to the present day. Commitment and a willingness to work intensively in rehearsals and to show initiative are the decisive prerequisites for participation and the success of the joint work.
The artistic director of the Folkwang KONZERTCHOR is Prof. Jörg Breiding, who has been Professor of Conducting | Choral Conducting at the Folkwang University of the Arts since 2005.
The Folkwang Vocal Ensemble was founded in October 2009 by Prof. Jörg Breiding and emerged from the concert choir of the Folkwang University of the Arts. The young singers are students or graduates of the Folkwang University of the Arts and have studied school music, church music, instrumental or vocal pedagogy with singing as their main subject. All ensemble members can also look back on extensive choral experience. For example, they have sung in the girls' choir at Essen Cathedral or in the NRW State Youth Choir and most of them have also performed as soloists.
The repertoire includes sacred and secular works from the Renaissance to modern times, as well as traditional songs, folk songs, close harmony and pop arrangements. The ensemble has taken part in masterclasses with Peter Philips / Tallis-Scholars (April 2010) and the Hilliard Ensemble (May 2011). As part of the "!Sing Day of Song 2010", the Folkwang Vokalensemble's performance was broadcast live on WDR3.
In 2012, the Folkwang Vokalensemble sang a concert as part of the International A Cappella Week Hanover. The CD recording "FOLKWANG VOKAL" with recordings by the Folkwang Vokalensemble has been released in the FOLKWANG CD EDITION series.
> To the mood course Folkwang VOKALENSEMBLE
contact
breiding(at)folkwang-uni.de
Vocal ensemble of equal voices at the Folkwang University of the ArtsThe ensemble "Upper Voices" was founded by selected singers from the Folkwang Women's Choir and students of Prof. Werner Schepp's class at the Folkwang University of the Arts.
The repertoire of the soloist ensemble includes works from the early baroque to the modern era. A clear focus is on the interpretation of works by Scandinavian and English composers.
Since its foundation in 2016, the ensemble has performed numerous concerts and extraordinary programs of sacred and secular music.
The ensemble is directed by Werner Schepp, Professor of Singing with Children and Young People | Choral Conducting at the Folkwang University of the Arts _Contact
schepp(at)folkwang-uni.de
The Folkwang MUSICAL COMBO is a joint ensemble of students from the Musical and Jazz courses and has a long tradition at Folkwang. Every spring, several concerts take place in and outside the university. Prof. Jürgen Grimm is the conductor.
The Folkwang JAZZ ORCHESTRA is made up of all the students on the jazz course at the Folkwang University of the Arts. It gives numerous concerts inside and outside the university, with the repertoire comprising works from the entire classical jazz literature.
The folkwang modern ensemble has been dedicated to the interpretation of contemporary music since its foundation in 2005 and is the ensemble for contemporary music at the Folkwang University of the Arts. Under the artistic direction of composer and university lecturer Prof. Günter Steinke, the young ensemble quickly developed into a professional ensemble. Eva Fodor has been the ensemble's permanent conductor since 2005. It also works with changing guest conductors. Not only works of classical modernism are on the program, but also premieres by young composers. Since 2007, the folkwang modern ensemble has performed regularly in the region - e.g. in the Philharmonie Essen and at the Zeche Zollverein World Heritage Site - and is a guest in numerous cooperation projects.