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    More: Music

    Ensembles

    • Chamber music
    • Orchestra
    • VocalEnsemble ZHdK
    • Bachelor's Semester Choir
    • Bachelor's Project Choir

    Chamber music

    Chamber music tuition is critically important in terms of the instrumental specializations associated with the Bachelor of Arts in Music (Classical), Master of Arts in Music Performance and Master of Arts in Specialized Music Performance degree programmes.
    The tuition is intended to teach the techniques involved in ensemble play, encourage in-depth study of complex scores and give people a chance to rehearse for concert appearances. The choice of works is tailored to the students' standard of playing and experience and is therefore discussed and determined by students and lecturers in advance.

    Orchestra

    The chance to meet outstanding conductors, to study and perform orchestral literature from the Baroque through to contemporary music, and to work with professional orchestras gives students some training in orchestral play and prepares them for their future professional life. Recent years have seen various major orchestral works worked on and performed, such as An Alpine Symphony and Till Eulenspiegel by Richard Strauss, Bruckner's and Mahler's 7th symphonies, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Bartรณk's Concerto for Orchestra, and Olivier Messiaen's Turangalรฎla Symphony. Notable conductors such as Stefan Asbury, Johannes Schlaefli, Marc Kissรณczy, Andreas Delfs, Howard Griffiths, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Bernhard Klee, Heinz Wallberg, Ralf Weikert, and David Zinman have conducted ZHdK's Symphony Orchestra.

    In terms of new music, the Arc-en-Ciel ensemble (made up of 15 to 17 musicians) has worked with Gerald Bennett, Olivier Cuendet, Peter Eรถtvรถs, Jรผrg Henneberger, Peter Hirsch, Vรฉronique Lacroix, Alain Monot, Peter Rundel and Johannes Schรถllhorn, as well as working on portraits of composers, among other things, with Henri Pousseur, Isabel Mundry, Wolfgang Rihm and Jonathan Harvey.
    Students taking a historical option work on Baroque orchestral music. These projects were led by Elizabeth Wallfisch, Werner Erhardt, and others. In collaboration with the Research area, some partly unpublished works by Heinichen, Pisendel, and others were also performed.

    VocalEnsemble ZHdK

    The VocalEnsemble ZHdK consists of 24 young vocal soloists studying in the Voice department. The ensemble specializes in:

    • Demanding a cappella literature
    • Authentic performances of choral music from different periods
    • Producing a balanced ensemble sound
    • A wide repertoire
    • Collaboration with high-profile institutions (Tonhalle Zรผrich, Musikkollegium Winterthur, etc.)
    • CD recordings, concert tours

    The ensemble gives at least one performance every semester in the university concert series. Every other year, a masterclass session is held under an internationally recognized choral director. The VocalEnsemble ZHdK also collaborates with other formations and institutions.

    Bachelor's Semester Choir

    Students taking classical music courses with main subjects other than Voice sing in the Bachelor's Semester Choir. Weekly rehearsals are conducted by Prof. Beat Schรคfer and Prof. Markus Utz, assisted by students in the Choral Conducting specialization. Each semester ends with a concert. The literature ranges from masters of the early Baroque and Classical periods through to premieres of new works. Depending on the works in the programme, the Bachelor's Semester Choir performs with ZHdK instrumentalists or vocal students. Every other year, all the vocal ensembles come together to perform an oratorio, together with soloists from the School of Music and the ZHdK orchestra.

    Bachelor's Project Choir

    The Bachelor's Project Choir is an ensemble for all classical music students in their third semester who are not taking Voice as their main subject. Those year groups who have already worked on an oratorio performance as part of the Semester Choir will spend this project week on a demanding a cappella programme (2009 was 'Great Britten', featuring 'Hymn to St. Cecilia'; 'Hymn to Virgin', 'Rejoice in the Lamb', etc.). The Bachelor's Project Choir is generally directed by Prof. Markus Utz. Those years groups who have only studied a cappella or chamber music choral works during their compulsory participation in the Semester Choir will spend their choral project week working on an oratorio in combination with all the vocal ensembles, which is then performed with soloists and the ZHdK orchestra.