There are just three weeks to go until the end of the summer semester’s courses: anyone wishing to liven up their final spurt of teaching and learning with some live music is invited to the upcoming concerts by student ensembles – many of which are taking place on the campus.
Once again, the Institute of Music’s calendar of events is particularly well-filled as the semester draws to a close. Over the three weeks leading up to 11 July, there are around 20 performances scheduled – whether by ensembles or soloists – almost all of them in the university’s Aula or Chamber Music Hall, and many with free admission.
On Thursday 25 June, for example, the University Orchestra, conducted by Rida Murtada, will take to the stage in the Aula (Building A11, Ammerländer Heerstraße 69) alongside the ‘Balkanologic’ quartet. The programme features works by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy as well as original compositions by ‘Balkanologic’, with Maren Bußmann as soloist. The concert begins at 7.30 pm; admission costs 12 euros (concessions 6 euros).
This year’s musical theatre project, directed by Volker Schindel, whisks the audience off into space – complete with intrigue, betrayal and an underground rebellion. Together with the BlueScreen Ensemble, led by Jochen Fried, students will bring their self-written space opera ‘Hello World 2.0 – Shadows of the Light’ to the stage in the auditorium on Saturday 27 June, 7.00 pm, and Sunday 28 June at 3.00 pm. Admission is 14 euros, concessions 6 euros.
Renaissance and early Baroque vocal music will be performed during the evening concert at the Forumskirche St. Peter (Peterstraße 20) on Sunday 28 June. The Ensemble Alte Musik, conducted by Axel Weidenfeld, will perform there from 7.30 pm with works by Palestrina, John Dowland, Thomas Tomkins and Gregorio Allegri.
The University of Oldenburg Chamber Choir, conducted by Silja Stegemeier, will be singing from 5.00 pm on the same day at Ansgari Church (Edewechter Landstraße 23), in a ‘collaborative concert’ with the University Choir and the Pop Choir of the University of the Arts (HfK) Bremen, conducted by Rucsandra Popescu, who also teaches in Oldenburg. From Romantic to pop, the three ensembles will offer insights into their respective repertoires, whilst also performing some pieces together. Admission is free.
Vocal students will perform in a workshop concert on Monday 29 June, from 7.00 pm, in the corridor of Building A9 (in front of rooms 017 and 019). The sound of a large ensemble – the UniChor, conducted by Silja Stegemeier – will fill the auditorium the following evening, also from 7.00 pm. Admission is free on both evenings.
A tribute to the composer Hans Werner Henze, marking the centenary of his birth, will take place on Wednesday 1 July, featuring plenty of percussion: Schlagwerk Ossietzky and the Bremen Percussion Ensemble will take to the auditorium stage for a joint concert “in honour of one of the most significant composers of the 20th century”. The concert, conducted by Olaf Tzschoppe and Gereon Voß, begins at 8.00 pm; admission is free.
The following evening, the University’s wind ensemble, conducted by Florian Schulte, invites you to a concert in the auditorium, followed on Saturday 4 July by the musical ensemble’s end-of-semester show, directed by Markus Hanse, Volker Schindel and Jonathan Strehle. Both events start at 8.00 pm, with free admission.
Following a piano recital conducted by Olga Riazantceva-Schwarz in the Chamber Music Hall on Monday 6 July, from 6.00 pm in the Chamber Music Hall (also in Building A11), followed the next evening by the Chamber Choir’s end-of-semester concert in the auditorium, conducted by Silja Stegemeier from 8.00 pm. Admission is free here too.
‘Summer Sounds’ will feature the Pop & Jazz Choir, conducted by Susanne Menzel, the Afro-Cuban Brazilian Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Christian Schoenefeldt, and a student a cappella ensemble on Wednesday 8 July in the auditorium. The event starts at 8.00 pm; admission is free.
‘Catching Shadows’ is the theme of a drumming evening in the university auditorium, with free admission, led by Gereon Voß on Thursday, 9 July, from 8.00 pm, before the University Big Band, conducted by Christian Kappe, fills the hall with swing, modern jazz and Latin American music the following evening, also from 8.00 pm. Tickets, priced at 12 euros – concessions 6 euros – are available at the box office. A full list of all concert dates is available from the Institute of Music.
