In the fall of 2025, the TU Ilmenau Chamber Choir celebrated its 40th anniversary – and with it, a piece of the university’s living history. Active and former members traveled from near and far, even from the Netherlands and the USA, to spend a weekend filled with music, fellowship, and memories.
What is it like to reunite and sing together again after decadesr? This question was on the minds of many of the 80 active and former singers of the TU Ilmenau Chamber Choir when they gathered from September 26 to 28, 2025, at the Tambach-Dietharz Youth Hostel to celebrate the choir’s 40th anniversary. It quickly became clear, according to Bettina Töpfer, the choir’s organizational director:
What a sound and what a joy to see each other again, spend time together, and rehearse as a group!
Under the direction of Silke Marburg and Sophia Müller, the 80-voice anniversary ensemble rehearsed two new pieces over the weekend. With Arne Puschnerus, who led the choir for many years, the choir also performed its “evergreens” from four decades of repertoire. It was remarkable how many melodies came back immediately – and how quickly harmony formed across generations. A group hike around the Tambach Reservoir, a small concert, and a festive evening featuring singing and spoken contributions rounded off the anniversary celebration.
Audible far beyond the campus
The chamber choir was founded in 1985 - back then as a small group of seven TU Ilmenau staff members, six men and one woman. In the years that followed, the ensemble grew steadily to its current performance strength of around 30 singers - and today it is a colorful mix: staff members and students of the TU Ilmenau from a wide variety of backgrounds sing together, some for just one semester, some since the founding period. The age structure is correspondingly diverse. And the choir is a lively, open ensemble that connects generations and nations and makes the musical soundscape of the TU Ilmenau audible far beyond the campus. The choir is always drawn to travel and participate in competitions, too: it has regularly taken part in the state choir competition since 1997 and has won several prizes at international festivals.
Sophia Müller has been the artistic director since summer 2022. Her predecessors were Manuel Bethe (2018-2022) and Arne Puschnerus (1994-2018), who played a decisive role in shaping the choir. In the early years, Silke Marburg (1988-1991), Almut Krumbach (1986-1987) and Lutz Müller (1985-1986) led the ensemble.
Rehearsals take place every semester and culminate each year in large summer and Christmas concerts, supplemented by numerous performances at university events and private parties. Bettina Töpfer:
Everyone who enjoys singing, especially our new students, is cordially invited to our rehearsals!
Rehearsals usually take place on Mondays from 18:30 to 21:30.