The chamber choir from TU Ilmenau was one of only twelve choirs in Germany to be selected to take part in the Choral Festival of the Association of German Concert Choirs (VDKC) in Weimar. The choir presented a modern program in front of a packed hall and impressed with its musical quality.
Campus
A resounding performance in Weimar: Chamber choir from TU Ilmenau impresses at the anniversary of the Association of German Concert Choirs
On May 10 and 11, 2025, the Association of German Concert Choirs (VDKC) celebrated its 100th anniversary in Weimar with a major choir festival. Over 500 choirs across Germany are organized in the VDKC, twelve of which were invited to help celebrate the anniversary musically - including the chamber choir from TU Ilmenau under the direction of Sophia Müller.
"The invitation alone was a great honor for us," says the choir director. The chamber choir had already applied in the summer of 2024 with a diverse program. In Weimar, the ensemble presented modern movements of traditional folk songs and the polyphonic "Four Shakespeare Songs" by Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi - with great success: "The audience was delighted," says Sophia Müller, while the VDKC's Secretary General, Ralf Schöne, personally congratulated the choir on its successful performance.
As part of the festival, the chamber choir performed a half-hour concert program together with two other ensembles. "The exchange with choirs from all over Germany - from Lübeck to Lake Constance - was inspiring," said Müller.
But after the festival is before the next concert: the chamber choir is currently rehearsing for its summer concerts in July 2025. Part of the program is a specially rehearsed forest choir piece that will be used as a sound installation in a radio essay about the Thuringian Forest. The Forest Echoes Back project is part of an artistic dissertation at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels / KU Leuven and combines nature, sound and research in an unusual way.