Conductor

So long we're still alive, Denn wenn et Trömmelche jeit, Echte Fründe , or Et jitt kei Wood – we all know them, the big hits of our favorite and most colorful season. Some of these songs are more than 30 years old, can you believe it? And Carnival is even older! But what did people listen to and sing on these crazy days 200 years ago? Come with us on a carnival journey through time!

The short history of Carnival

Beethoven Hall

Even though our Christmas concert in the Kreuzkirche has become a beloved tradition, it is far from routine: the Christmas customs of the countries we visit musically, the moods and languages ​​of different styles and ensembles are too diverse. This year we're traveling back to Germany's past: Christmas with "Papa Bach" in a small Silesian village or with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Berlin. In the 1820s, there was already a Christmas market there with over 100 stalls, the sensation perhaps being the evening illuminations, which contrasted with the darkness in which much of the city was shrouded at night.

Lights in the Darkness

Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Tony is at the Schauspielhaus with his class: visiting the orchestra rehearsing there, and he takes a peek behind the scenes. But that's not enough for Tony, he wants more! To see and hear more, to sneak through the building alone and marvel at the instruments. He wants to see where the musicians warm up, where they take their breaks, where the conductor prepares for the concert, and where the instruments sleep at night. He has a mission! When everyone leaves the building, he quickly sneaks around a corner and waits until he's alone. But then he realizes: he's not so alone after all! All the shiny, clattering, bowed, and blown instruments are still there – and they're not asleep at all. And Tony discovers something else: a magical conductor's book! I wonder what magic spells are written there?

EPSG:4326

Tony and the Magic Conducting Book

Schauspielhaus Bad Godesberg

When André Gatzke comes to the opera for the big children's carnival party, there will be singing, swaying and laughing. Carnival hits in orchestral arrangements and music through all styles and eras – everyone will get their money's worth at this concert. We are looking forward to the whirlwind André Gatzke, the young dancers from the Vadim Bondar Ballet Center and the Bönnsche Pänz and above all to many big and small carnival revellers in disguise in the orchestra … and the audience!

Bonn Alaaf!

Theater Bonn Opera House

Exciting journeys of discovery are guaranteed when we venture into the caravan landscape of BaseCamp: Up to the dizzying heights of contemporary music. Down to the gems of never-before-heard sounds. Far out into the wild, where the wild rhythms dwell... Four pieces that explore this wonderful space in unusual ways are on this year's program, where the audience is, quite literally, at the center of the action...

Conductor

Daniel J. Mayr

Events

Upcoming events

Jun 6, 2026

BaseCamp · Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Past events

Feb 15, 2026

The short history of Carnival · Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Dec 23, 2025

Lights in the Darkness · Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in In C by Riley

Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Conductor in Lights in the Darkness by Composers

Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Conductor in Fat Finger Error by Kampe

Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Conductor in Mass & Movement by Hübner

Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Conductor in Balloon Symphony by Dunaway

Beethoven Orchester Bonn

About

Daniel J. Mayr hasn't added a bio