Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
The Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks was founded in 1946 as the first of Bavarian Broad- casting’s musical ensembles. Starting in 1949, its artistic upswing ran parallel to the develop- ment of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Chief Conductor of which has been Mariss Jansons since 2003. From the beginning both ensembles are linked in inten- sive concert activities. In 2005 Peter Dijkstra was appointed the Artistic Director. As avowed anti-specialist he has presented a wide variety of programs. These included a cappella productions as well as collaborations with the two Bavarian Broadcasting orches tras as well as such period ensembles as the Concerto Köln and the Akademie für alte Musik in Berlin. Because of its special sound quality and stylistic versatility, which ranges through every aspect of choral singing from the mediæval motet to con temporary works, from oratorio to grand opera, the ensemble enjoys the highest reputation throughout the world. This has brought the chorus regularly to such eminent festivals as the Lucerne Festival, the Salzburg Festival and the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, as well as to collaborations with top European orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam. In the past, the chorus has concertized with such distinguished conductors as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christian Thielemann, Giovanni Antonini, Andris Nelsons,Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Herbert Blomstedt and Robin Ticciati. In the musica viva series and Paradisi gloria as well as in their own subscription series, the choir regularly shines in worldpremières. The choir has received a number of major prizes for its CD recordings, most recently, the 2014 ECHO Klassik for its recording with works of Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt on the BR-KLASSIK label.

Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Founded in 1952, in the course of its 60-year history, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester has developed into an ensemble with an enormously expansive artistic spectrum. Concert perfor- mances of opera with international stars and the Paradisi gloria series highlighting 20th and 21st century sacred music are just as much a part of its schedule as are children’s and young people’s concerts including supplemental educational programs, entertainingly hosted theme evenings or the performance of film scores.

Since 2006 Ulf Schirmer has been the Artistic Director of the Münchner Rundfunkorche- ster. He has set new accents in content with rediscoveries in the field of opera and operetta, the performance of commissioned works in the Paradisi gloria series and collaborations with the August Everding Bavarian Theatre Academy. In 2013, the Vokal genial (Choice Voices) International Singing Competition in cooperation with the “Konzertgesellschaft München” took place for the forth time. The Münchner Rundfunkorchester has regular guest appearances at festivals such like the Kissinger Sommer, Mozartfest Würzburg and Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At the 2013 Salzburg Festival the orchestra accompanied Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo in Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arco; this was followed by an invitation for Donizetti’s La favorite in 2014. Thanks to its large number of CD productions the Münchner Rundfunkorchester is ongoingly represented on the recording market with such renowned artists as Vesselina Kasarova, Diana Damrau or Klaus Florian Vogt as well as opera and operetta recordings of works like Humperdinck’s Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty) or Bernsteins Trouble in Tahiti.

Peter Dijkstra
has been the Artistic Director of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks since 2005. Born in 1978, the Dutch musician studied choral conducting, orchestral conducting and voice at the Conservatory in The Hague, graduating with honours. Later, he perfected his artistry through studies with Marcus Creed, Jorma Panula and Eric Ericson. Peter Dijkstra has won, among other awards, the Kersjes-van-de-Groenekan Prize for orchestral conducting and the Eric Ericson Award – accolades that helped him launch his international career.

Besides his activities as Artistic Director of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, he was also engaged as Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Chorus in 2007 and with the season 2015/2016 he will be Artistic Director of the Nederlands Kamerkoor.

Peter Dijkstra has already acquired an extensive repertoire ranging from early music all the way to music of the modern era, from a cappella works to operatic choruses and also makes regular appearances as an orchestral conductor. Here he has collaborated with the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the Stavanger Sinfoniorkester, the Nagoya and Japan Philharmonic Orchestras, and many others, including the two orchestras of the Bayerischer Rundfunk and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. Peter Dijsktra directs special attention to his collaborations with special ensembles for early music, among them, Concerto Köln, B’Rock and the Akademie für alte Musik in Berlin as well as Drottningholms Barockensemble in Sweden.

Peter Dijkstra is an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy. In the Nether- lands in 2013 he was awarded the Golden Violin, an award for internationally outstanding Dutch musicians, and in 2014 he won the Eugen-Jochum-Prize.