Musikfest - 100 Jahre Konzertgesellschaft Schwerte

In the organizer's words:

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Konzertgesellschaft Schwerte is inviting the citizens of Schwerte to a major music festival on May 31, 2026 in halls 2 and 3 of the Rohrmeisterei Schwerte.

The big festive concert will consist of five separate concert sections, which will be performed one after the other with breaks in between. They are intended to offer visitors to the music festival a cross-section of the music offered by the concert society - and at the same time an opportunity to get together!

ADMISSION IS FREE!

The music festival begins at 4 pm. It comprises five concert sections, which you can attend individually or as a whole. They take place alternately in the large and small halls of the Rohrmeisterei. Admission to the individual concert sections is possible at any time during the breaks in between. The breaks between the sections allow the audience to move from one hall to the next hall with the following concert section after one concert section. However, you can also skip a concert section in order to take a longer break. Weather permitting, the Rohrmeisterei will also be offering light refreshments and refreshments in the outdoor area: We are delighted to have the Rohrmeisterei at our side as a long-standing supporter of the concert society at the Musikfest.

The works on the program at the music festival will mainly belong to the great classics of music literature, which even visitors with a less classical affinity are sure to know and love. However, there will also be "lighter" sounds to be heard.

CONCERT SECTION 1 (approx. 16:00 - 16:30)

"Gaudeamus!"

Choir of the Schwerte Concert Society
Concert Choir of the City of Kamen
New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia
Conductor: Maik Morgner

The Latin motto "Gaudeamus!" - meaning "Let us rejoice!" - stands over the entire music festival: 100 years of the Concert Society Choir are really a good reason to make yourself and others happy! This should also be reflected in this first concert section and its selected titles. It is therefore significant that Johannes Brahms' Academic Festive Overture, in which the student song "Gaudeamus igitur" plays a central role, opens the concert. This Brahms work is one of the most popular program elements on international concert stages and is a wonderful way to open a major music festival. This will be followed by excerpts from Bach's secular cantata "Tönet ihr Pauken", from Joseph Haydn's work "The Seasons" and other well-known pieces.

CONCERT SECTION 2 (approx. 16:50 - 17:10)

OSIMUN Saxophone Quartet

The Osimun Quartet is a young chamber music group that was founded in Cologne and Aachen in 2021. It has quickly gained great recognition in professional circles. They have already performed in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven and in major concert halls in Germany. They have won competitions such as the Storioni Competition 2023, the Spanish Young Musicians Competition 2023 and were finalists at the renowned Grachten Festival in Amsterdam 2023, the Classics Park and the Music Awards Maastricht 2022. Two years ago, they also performed at the Konzertgesellschaft Schwerte.

CONCERT SECTION 3 (approx. 17:30 - 17:55)

CHORLORADO
Conductor: Bettina Lecking

The Schwerte choir "Chorlorado" is as colorful as the well-known candy bag: this is how Chorlorado sees itself - as a mixture of female and male voices, young to old, a repertoire of classical, pop, sacred and world music, preferably a cappella, but also with piano accompaniment or with chamber musicians, such as "The Chambers" from Cologne.

CONCERT SECTION 4 (approx. 18:10 - 18:25)

BENYAMIN NUSS on the Bösendorfer concert grand piano

Benyamin Nuss is no stranger to Schwerte. We welcomed him as a piano partner of marimba player F. Nonoya in 2022 and got to know him as a pianist in Trio Schmuck in 2024.

Different genres from classical to jazz have become his passion. Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninov are still among his favorite composers today. This time the focus will be on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. He spontaneously and enthusiastically accepted our request to play the piano part in Beethoven's Choral Fantasy.

CONCERT SECTION 5 (approx. 18:40 - 19:00)

FINAL BEETHOVEN CHORAL FANTASY

Choir of the Schwerte Concert Society
Concert Choir of the City of Kamen
Benyamin Nuss - piano
Neue Philharmonie Westfalen
Musical direction: Maik Morgner

In the finale of the music festival, we are looking forward to a joint performance by the orchestra together with the OSIMUN Saxophone Quartet and pianist Benyamin Nuss with Gershwin's Variations on I Got Rhythm.

Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, although not played very often, will finally form the triumphant finale of the concert: In a mixture of cantata and concert piece, Beethoven has set a hymn to art in the Choral Fantasy, which is seen as a precursor to the "Ode to Joy" of his 9th Symphony and is often even called his "Little Ninth" due to some musical similarities between the two works.

Price information:

Admission free!