Dresdner Mädchenchor (Dresden Girls’ Choir)
The Dresden Girls' Choir emerged from a children's and youth choir ensemble founded by Manfred Winter in 1965. Since 1989, the choir has been directed by Claudia Sebastian-Bertsch and has been part of the Heinrich Schütz Conservatory Dresden since August 2018. Rehearsals are held in the preparatory choir (for girls from 5 years/pre-school), concert choir (from class 5) and chamber choir (from class 8) according to age.
The choir's repertoire is extremely diverse: in addition to the works of old masters of the classical and romantic periods with original accompaniments, modern compositions, swing and modern music as well as foreign-language choral literature are heard. With the composition commissions "Und oben schwimmt die Sonne davon" (song cycle 2006/07) and "Der lyrische Bissen" (cantata 2011/12) as well as the singspiel Dresdner BaROCKgeflüster® (from 2008) and the multicultural own production "Eine Geschichte vom kleinen Muck" (2009/10), the choir broke new ground in scenic work. The Dresden Girls' Choir in Motion was heard and seen in the project "Chorodthia" (rhythm: Maria Poyiadji-Fink) for the Sonnenstrahl e.V. benefit concert (2014) as well as at the step singing in the Kreuzkirche (2017).
The voices of the approximately 50 girls have also been heard at the Dresden Music Festival, in the Dresden City Hall, in the Dresden Frauenkirche and in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Numerous charity and benefit concerts as well as regular Christmas and spring concerts adorn the concert calendar. In addition, there have been concert tours and choir encounters as well as joint concerts with choirs, orchestras and soloists from the USA, Canada, Korea, Luxembourg, Holland, Austria and Germany (Hamburg, Lübeck and Munich). The Dresdner Mädchenchor has also successfully participated in numerous competitions (Baden-Baden, Bremen, Budapest/Hungary, Calw, Coventry/Great Britain, Düsseldorf, Grevenmacher/Luxembourg, Halle/Saale, Hamburg, Nerpelt/Belgium, Saarbrücken, Tegernsee and Zwickau). Numerous television, radio and CD productions made the choir known at home and abroad. In 2008, the Dresdner Mädchenchor was nominated for the Robert Edler Prize.
In cooperation with the Saxon Music Council and the Landesmusikakademie Schloss Colditz, a CD production was realised in 2010 and holiday academies were held in 2011/12/13/18 and 2022. In June 2012, the girls' choir took part in the German Choir Festival in Frankfurt am Main.
A German-German choir meeting took place in October 2013 and 2014 with the Munich Girls' Choir (director: Katrin Wende-Ehmer) in Dresden. Joint concerts were also held with the "Salzburger Mädchenchor" (conductor: Markus Obereder) and the "Salzburger Chorknaben und Chormädchen" (conductor: Helmut Zeilner) in Dresden and Salzburg. The exchange project (2016/17) took place within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Dresden-Salzburg city partnership. In December 2019, the Dresden Girls' Choir welcomed the girls' choir CANTA! from the Lübeck Music School (director: Elena Pavlova) to Dresden. We hope for a return visit to Lübeck soon!
Choir director: Claudia Sebastian-Bertsch
Contact: via the student office (0351) 8 28 26-45 or -46
Rehearsals:
- Prechoir (for girls from 5 years/pre-school): Thursdays from 4.15 to 5 pm
- Concert choir (for girls from class 5): Mondays from 6 to 7 p.m. | Thursdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
- Chamber choir (additional) (for girls from class 8): Mondays from 7 to 7:30 p.m. | Thursdays from 7 to 7:30 p.m.
- Voice group rehearsals (additional): Mondays from 4:45 p.m. | Thursdays from 5 p.m.
- Voice training: Mondays and Thursdays parallel to choir rehearsals
Rehearsal venue: HSKD (Glacisstraße 30/32, 01099 Dresden) and branch "Kraftwerk Mitte" (Lichtwerk 22, 01067 Dresden)