The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO)’s residence in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) started on 16May 2009, with a highly successful concert version of Weber’s Der Freischütz under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock. The concert halls in Dortmund, Essen and Cologne will be the venues of the residence, which is sponsored by the Arts Foundation NRW and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Together with the concert halls and the Orchesterzentrum NRW in Dortmund, the MCO is planning top-notch operas and concerts and professional training programmes for the next three years.
The coming three years will see the MCO, already well known to the audiences of NRW, returning often to the region to work with its Principal Conductor Daniel Harding and other renowned conductors and soloists such as Seiji Ozawa, George Benjamin, Waltraud Meier and Janine Jansen. During these stays, the orchestra will rehearse and perform symphonic programmes, operas and chamber music concerts. International concert tours will follow the performances in NRW; in this way, the MCO will play an important role as cultural ambassador of the NRW art scene, and will represent the brand MCO Residence NRW throughout the world.
The MCO’s plans for the next few years are not limited to concerts and operas, but also include an extensive education programme. This will be realised primarily through cooperation with the Orchesterzentrum NRW in Dortmund. The activities will include individual workshops for music students held by MCO musicians and joint concerts with the students. Especially talented young players will have the opportunity to take part in MCO projects outside of the NRW residence.
The first workshops for the students were held during the rehearsal period for Der Freischütz by MCO principal flutist Chiara Tonelli and MCO principal oboist Mizuho Yoshii. In addition, many of the students visited the Freischütz rehearsals—a lively exchange between the professionals and the students followed.
The first auditions for the joint performance of Stravinksy’s Le Sacre du Printemps in November 2009 also took place in Dortmund. The jury, which consistd of orchestra members from each section, chose a group of students to play in the concerts in Dortmund and Cologne with the MCO.
Additional outreach projects alongside this cooperation with the Orchesterzentrum include open rehearsals and behind-the-scenes tours.
North Rhein-Westfalia has made a great commitment to culture in the last few years: Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg all had new concert halls built at the beginning of the millennium. With the KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND, the Philhamornie Essen and the Cologne Philharmonic, the region has acquired three internationally active, standard-setting venues. This area in the west of Germany has been undergoing deep structural changes recently: it is the third most populous region in Europe. The “Ruhr” urban area has 53 cities and 5.3 million residents, from over 170 countries, within the boundaries of the coal industry area founded in 1920. As European Capital of Culture, RUHR.2010 is a newcomer to the stages of Europe. Yet even before its nomination, the area’s 200 museums, 100 concert houses, 120 theatres, 250 festivals and 3,500 industrial monuments were proof of an unusual and diverse up-and-coming cultural scene.
MAY 2009 16 MAY / SAT 19:00 / KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND >> MORE OCTOBER 2009 30 OCT / FRI 19:00 / KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND >> MORE NOVEMBER 2009 03 NOV / TUE 20:00 / KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND >> MORE FEBRUARY 2010 26 FEB / FRI 20:00 / KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND >> MORE
AUGUST 2009 30 AUG / SUN 20:00 / KÖLNER PHILHARMONIE >> MORE NOVEMBER 2009 02 NOV / MON 20:00 / KÖLNER PHILHARMONIE>> MORE FEBRUARY 2010 25 FEB / THU 20:00 / KÖLNER PHILHARMONIE>> MORE APRIL 2010 25 APR / SUN 20:00 / KÖLNER PHILHARMONIE>> MORE
