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Chamber choir of the TU Ilmenau awarded at state choir competition

With, among others, the new arrangement of "Gaudeamus igitur" by Lukas Förster, which was premiered on the occasion of the matriculation at the TU Ilmenau 2022, the Chamber Choir of the TU Ilmenau won a special prize for the most outstanding stage presence of the day at the "ChorAtelier Thüringen 2022" .

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In Weimar, the singers of the chamber choir of the TU Ilmenau have successfully demonstrated their musical skills.

"Bringing your own voice into the great common sound" - this was the motto of the 8th State Choir Meeting Thuringia on November 12 and 13, 2022 in Weimar. The President of the State Music Council of Thuringia, Christoph Meixner, drew attention in his welcoming address to the difficult situation of choirs, in particular also to the effects of the Corona pandemic, which caused a lasting collapse of many ensembles. After two difficult years, the meeting at the ChorAtelier was therefore the focus of attention. 16 ensembles with a total of about 550 singers took part in the Landeschor meeting - among them also the chamber choir of the TU Ilmenau. In the judging, the choirs were able to get feedback on their strengths and development potential and, if they wished, qualify for the German Choir Competition 2023. In addition to the competition part, interesting workshops were offered, so that valuable impulses could be gained when trying out new literature.

Rehearsals with new choir director

The chamber choir of the TU Ilmenau has already presented itself to the expert jury several times at state choir competitions, which take place every four years, as Bettina Töpfer, singer in the choir and employee for research and analysis at the State Patent Center Thuringia, reports:

But this year it was not clear for a long time whether participation would be possible, because our choir also had a difficult time behind it. This was marked by months of restrictions, which were especially true for choirs - virtual rehearsals and singing at a distance. In addition, there was a change of choir leadership in August 2022.

With a lot of courage, the chamber choir, after only a few joint rehearsals with the new choir director Sophia Schmidt, dared to face the expert jury - with a small, well-selected program. Besides "Cantate Domino" by Karl Jenkins, in the setting by Arne Puschnerus and "Jubilate Deo" by Vytautas Miškinis, the chamber choir sang the new arrangement of "Gaudeamus igitur" by Lukas Förster, which was premiered on the occasion of the matriculation at the TU Ilmenau 2022. In addition, "'s Raachermannel" in the movement of Andreas Kuch was a Christmas song in the short program.

The courage of the singers was rewarded by a very good feedback of the expert jury. They wished for an encore, as Bettina Töpfer tells:

We gladly complied with the wish of this jury to hear the chamber choir again at the evening finissage with the piece "'s Raachermannel". This alone was a great recognition of our performance.

Praise from the jury and composers

After two performances, the chamber choir was awarded the "special prize for the most outstanding stage presence of the day". The honor began with the words "with the Chamber Choir of the TU Ilmenau you can see the joy of singing on every singer's face and that's exactly how it should be." For the singers, the award was a special reward for having saved the Chamber Choir of the TU Ilmenau through the difficult years during the corona pandemic, as Bettina Töpfer explains. Through the great commitment of each individual in the choir, but also through the diverse support of the university, this had succeeded, she said.

The singers still experienced a special feature at the finissage: after their performance, the composer of the piece "'s Raachermannel", who lives in Weimar, surprisingly approached them, praised the interpretation of his work and congratulated the chamber choir on their award.

Currently, 35 singers sing, one third of them students and doctoral students of the TU Ilmenau.

Contact

Kammerchor der TU Ilmenau e.V.

Chamber Choir of the TU ilmenau