As the year draws to a close, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester invites you to immerse yourself in a symphony of seasonal celebrations. From the joyful harmonies of children's choirs to the poignant strains of Bach and Rossini, this concert series promises to enchant and uplift. Join an array of talented performers, including beloved children’s entertainer Sigurd Barrett, renowned folk artists Helene Blum and Harald Haugaard, and rising stars like Guido Sant'Anna and Alena Baeva, as they bring to life a rich tapestry of festive sounds across Denmark and beyond.

A Melodic Journey: Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester's Festive Season Line-Up

From the captivating violin prowess of Alena Baeva to the evocative narratives of Shostakovich’s compositions, the Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester offers a series of events that promise to resonate with cultural and artistic significance. These concerts highlight a blend of historical and contemporary works, featuring renowned performers like Stephanie Childress and Johan Reuter. Dive into the enriching world of classical music, where each event is a gateway to experiencing diverse artistic expressions, cultural stories, and the timeless beauty of symphonic music.

A Symphony of Artistic Journeys: Spotlight on the Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester Events

Join Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester as they present a rich tapestry of musical narratives in 2025. From Poul Schierbeck's operatic tales in 'Fête galante' to the illustrious 'Missa Solemnis' by Beethoven at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, this season promises to be a remarkable journey through time, emotions, and art. With performances by renowned artists such as Johan Reuter and Robert Treviño, these events offer an exploration of complex narratives and musical genius across various genres and historical contexts, promising an unforgettable experience for all attendees.

A Cultural Symphony: Celebrating Music and Stories through Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester's 2025 Season

Embark on a captivating journey with Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester as they present a series of diverse and enriching concerts in 2025. From the heartfelt choral harmonies of Rossini’s 'Stabat Mater' to the powerful orchestral renditions of Shostakovich, the season promises an eclectic mix of performances that explore themes of love, resilience, and artistic innovation. Internationally renowned conductors and musicians join forces to deliver performances that are sure to resonate deeply with audiences, offering an unforgettable musical experience that reflects both cultural richness and artistic excellence.

An Artistic Odyssey: Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester's 2025 Concert Series

The Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester is set to take audiences on a musical journey through an array of captivating events in 2025. From operatic debuts to international celebrations, these events promise to enrich the cultural tapestry of Europe. Highlights include Poul Schierbeck’s 'Fête galante', Johan Reuter’s powerful renditions of Brahms, and the grand 40th anniversary of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. Join us as we explore the intricate beauty of these performances and the artists behind them.

A Symphony of Events: Celebrating Cultural Harmony with Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester

In a carefully composed musical sequence, we are led through the heart-rending stories of Easter week until spring and freedom. Orchestral music, arias, lieder, choral songs and group songs create a unified narrative of the journey from festive anticipation through dense darkness to the triumph of light.

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The big spring

Ribe Cathedral

Sædding Centret

Alsion

'Fête galante' means love feast and refers to the paintings that show the parties and excesses of the French nobility in the 18th century. In the popular Danish composer Poul Schierbecks Fête galante such a love fest gets out of control when Count René leads the young Suzon into the dark, and this has major consequences. Poul Schierbeck has written the melodies for some of the most popular Danish songs, including "I was born in Denmark", "Hør den lille stær" and "It's today a weather". The main work Fête galante is his only opera.

Fête galante

Vejle Musikteater

'DER ER VI' is a new work for orchestra, soloists and choir, where boundaries and their at once intangible and consequential nature unfold through music, language and movement.


A series of simple sentences move through 12 different but closely related languages, where they collide, influence and transform in a clear and immediate tonal language that constantly records and blurs its own boundaries.

Love and attitude

Kulturhus Harmonien

Sønderjylland's Symphony Orchestra is actively involved as part of the region's musical talent development. In this connection, Sønderjylland's Symphony Orchestra collaborates every year with MGK-Syd's classical students on a workshop and an internship in the Alsion concert hall The course includes teaching with the orchestra's musicians as mentors, orchestra rehearsals and playing together in small and large groups. The course culminates when the MGK students take part in a concert side by side with the orchestra's regular musicians, which always guarantees an exciting and festive closing concert.

Our young talents

Rossini knew his means of action, and although there is a long way from the action overture to the opera Wilhelm Tell to his ecclesiastical work Stabat Mater, the works have in common that Rossini knew what he was doing; was it dramatic, heartfelt, cheerful - he could play on all keys. The Stabat Mater is a psalm text from the Middle Ages that tells of Mary's pain as she witnesses her son's crucifixion, and many have set it to music. Rossini is not the only composer to have brought the operatic style into the church, and Rossini's few church musical works are profoundly religious in the language he mastered. Emotional and virtuosic music to the words Grundtvig translated: "Only the tender mother's heart can hold a mother's pain" - the essence of the Stabat Mater.

Choral concert: Rossini's Stabat Mater

If you were at the first performance of Beethoven's Eroica in 1805, one was at a revolutionary, musical historical event. The symphony broke the boundaries. It is the beginning of Beethoven's heroic period, where the music is characterized by the idea of man's, the hero's, struggle for freedom. From the 1st movement bursting with thoughtfulness in the 2nd movement's mourning march and the energy of the 3rd movement, to the finale, which is not tritely triumphant, but subtle and surprising. Even today, when the symphony has been heard countless times, it can blow one away, and stands as one of the greatest symphonies ever. Kuhlau knew Beethoven and conducted his works in Copenhagen. In addition, he traveled twice to Vienna, where he visited him. The music for the play William Shakespeare and to Elverhøj was composed after that – by a German-born Danish composer, inspired by a revolutionary composer.

Grieg's piano concerto

The Hall of Trolls

Sønderjyllandshallen

Where will you be in ten years? Stephanie Childress answers in an interview on meettheartist.online: She thinks that she works with music together with good colleagues, and plays an active role in changing the education in art and music. Because, she says, the earlier you encounter art, the better. It is not a question of educating more musicians, but that everyone should have the opportunity to experience, for example, the classical music – and that is what she wants, to bring classical music and art to as many people as possible. French-British Stephanie Childress herself played the violin as a child. She is not from a musical family, but from a home where all kinds of activities were supported and Tina Turner and David Bowie were listened to. She didn't really want to be a musician, but then she started going to rehearsals for operas instead of classes at school, Britten and Strauss heard, and then she was sold. She continued with the violin, and it provided a foundation for her to begin conducting studies. Today, she has already achieved part of her dream, i.a. conducted at the Glyndebourne opera in England – which is praised as one of the best Mozart interpreters – and was assistant conductor at St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in the USA, as well as 1st guest conductor at the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra from season 24/25. And touring all over the world until then.

Young woman on podium

Deutsches Haus venues GmbH

Violinist Alena Baeva was born in Kyrgyzstan in what was then the Soviet Union. When she was 5 years old, the family had to flee due to civil war. They came to Kazakhstan and later to Moscow when Alena Baeva started studying violin at the conservatory there. Many exams and concerts were part of the teaching, and she liked it - being on stage and sharing the music with others. Today, Alena Baeva lives in Luxembourg with her husband and children, well located near airports and concert halls. Travel is part of a musician's life and you can be completely blown away by her calendar of concerts from Hong Kong to numerous halls in Europe and the USA. Alena Baeva plays both the big concerts and chamber music; chamber music i.a. with Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko. As far as concerts are concerned, she has both the known and the unknown in her repertoire. Among other things, Prokofiev's 2nd violin concerto, which, in order to remain cosmopolitan, was first performed by a French violinist in Madrid in 1935, and was composed in several places while Prokofiev was on his tours as a pianist. After the not-so-frequently played concert, it is Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony with its natural scenes that can be experienced: the trickling of the brook, village festival, thunderstorm, and peaceful shepherd's song after the storm.

Baeva & Beethoven

Present and mature in his playing, a critic wrote after a concert at a German festival about Guido Sant'Anna, born in 2005 in Säo Paulo in Brazil. Sant'Anna won a chamber music prize at the Menuhin Competition at the age of 12, where he was the first Brazilian ever to enter. The youngster said in a small homemade video that he was looking forward to meeting violinists from all over the world, making friends and having fun. In 2022, at the age of 17, he won 1st prize in the Fritz Kreisler Competition – both competitions founded on the shoulders of great violin virtuosos who were aware of young violinists and the opportunities they should be given.

Scandinavian debut

Shostakovich composed his two cello concertos for his friend, the cellist and conductor Rostropovich. The virtuoso 1st and the introverted 2nd Rostropovitch had an international career, and great influence also on a violinist like Anne-Sophie Mutter. And here a connection was made: There is a direct line from Shostakovich to the cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, even though he was born the year after his death. Because through Anne-Sophie Mutter, Müller-Schott became a pupil of Rostropovitch. Not so that he could trudge to a classroom and play, no, he said when he was in Copenhagen a few years ago: Müller-Schott traveled after Rostropovich, because the master could think of calling late in the evening - and that was it to strike. You can imagine it, the young German and the old Russian in a hotel room in Germany somewhere... At the age of 15, Müller-Schott won the fine Tchaikovsky competition for young musicians in Moscow, and with his talent and good teachers, there was no long before he played with great orchestras and fine musicians; the list is long. Müller-Schott has also taken an interest in premiering new works for cello, and working with other art forms, in what seems like an eternal curiosity.

World stars in Sønderborg

Are you ready to start the new year in style? You are hereby invited to our fantastic New Year's Gala, where we put traditions first and dance into the coming year with the sumptuous sound of beautiful Viennese music! Get ready to be enchanted by the beautiful tones and lively atmosphere that characterize Viennese music – everything from Strauss' An der schönen, the blue Danube to Lumbye Champagne gallop. We also have an exceptional soprano for the concert, the American-Russian soprano Anastasiya Roytman.

New Year's Gala

Comwell Kolding

Nordstern Arena Horsens

The barrel halls

Ruth Reinhardt was educated in both the violin and in the children's choir at the opera in Saarbrücken, and conducted other young people in an opera she had composed herself when she was only 17. She has conducted many orchestras in the United States and Europe; orchestras that know the broad repertoire, but also manage to create the slender sound we now associate with baroque music.  It is mastered by Ruth Reinhardt, who has been praised for, among other things, that

Bach's Christmas Oratorio

Kristkirkens

Løgumkloster Kirke

Singer and songwriter Helene Blum, together with violinist and composer Harald Haugaard, have distinguished themselves as some of the finest interpreters and innovators of the rich and vibrant Nordic cultural heritage.

Since 2007, they have let the music, traditions and stories of Christmas unfold in an annual Nordic Christmas tour, where their own songs and compositions meet original interpretations of old shows, hymns and dance music in a timeless universe that at once sounds recognizable and but very refreshing. For these concerts, the Nordic Christmas concert unfolds in a large format, when Sønderjylland's Symphony Orchestra meets the two folk musicians under the direction of Phillip Faber.

Nordic Christmas: Blum & Haugaard

A. P. Møller School

Experience Sigurd Barrett, the Sønderjysk Girl Choir and the Boys' Choir, a huge children's choir from the schools in Southern and Southern Jutland as well as Southern Schleswig, when they sing Christmas into a festive repertoire of Christmas carols and Christmas jokes. There is a guarantee of both Christmas spirit, laughter and lots of singing joy!

Sing Christmas in with Sigurd & children's choir

Hotel Nørherredhus

Nordfrieslandhalle

Schweizerhalle - Tønder Kulturhus

Conducting a symphony orchestra is not something you just do – it is a subject that must be learned – and therefore it is crucial that young conducting students get the opportunity to work with a professional symphony orchestra during their education. Sønderjylland's Symphony Orchestra holds conducting seminars every year, where young conducting students, with the advice and guidance of experienced conductors, have the opportunity to learn and develop their conducting skills. This time the seminar ends with an open rehearsal, so that the audience also has the opportunity to get to know new young conductors and maybe even find a young conductor whose career they want to follow in the future.

Conducting seminar

Nielsen and Sibelius – two giants of the 20th century Scandinavian musical tradition, born in the same year in 1865. Both with an international outlook, widely traveled, they each came to define something national. Nielsen was on a long trip around Europe when he met his future wife. They were married in Paris and they were also together in Greece then The Helios Overture was composed, inspired by the strong southern sun. Sibelius's 2nd Symphony is from the previous year, from 1902, and it has been popular since its premiere. Sibelius, who had studied in Berlin and Vienna, was acclaimed for works that were believed to contain the Finnish folk soul.

Øland conducts Nielsen & Sibelius

Look forward to an evening where every stroke of the strings and every note from the flute turns into a story about Danish culture and tradition. Here, memories are awakened and new ones are created when, in true Morten Korch style, we unfold the tones of Danish classic songs , including the heartwarming "The Last Dance" by Kai Normann Andersen and the love-filled "In Love in Copenhagen" by Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, as well as music from the beloved TV series monopoly and from The Olsen Gang- the movies. It will be an evening where the music becomes a journey through time and emotions, and where you will experience Danish music in its most beautiful and most vivid way.

Danish classics

Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, premiered in Frankfurt in 1937, is a work that still works. It is music for mundane medieval texts, quite juicy in places: the carnal relationships are not hidden. Translations of the songs, which are mostly in Latin, were handed out before the premiere, and the young people must have been somewhat embarrassed. Orff's music is effective because he has both a sense of melody and rhythm with the use of percussion, which Orff often used. It was during the Nazi rule that Carmina Burana was premiered, and the critics did not quite agree: the focus on rhythm was considered "primitive", the lyrics were daring, but the work was also popular and accepted in its time. Orff's own relationship with the regime has since been discussed. He himself was most interested in getting his music out. Carmina Burana is an effective example of that.

Janz conducts Carmina Burana

Conductor Nikolai Malko was born in Ukraine in 1883, was educated at St. Petersburg and worked as both conductor and teacher, but left what had become the Soviet Union in 1929 and did not return. In return, he gained invaluable importance for e.g. The Radio Symphony Orchestra, now the DR Symphony Orchestra, here in Denmark. He helped to build the orchestra and was on the podium when the first Thursday concert was played in 1933. Although he settled in the USA, he was a regular guest conductor of the orchestra and therefore a few years after his death the first international conducting competition was held under his name. It has been held under the auspices of DR since 1965. It is a competition for young conductors who, in addition to money, probably just as importantly win more engagements so that they can perform as they should - on the podium in front of an orchestra.

Malko winner 2024

Conductor Jonathan Bloxham is from the north-east of England, a region where both the Romans and the Vikings have ruled - a region with a proud history and beautiful nature. Although Jonathan Bloxham now conducts in many places in the world, he still has an important contact with his home region, where he has created an annual festival which, among other things, promotes lesser-known and emerging composers and enlists young musicians from around the world to inspire audiences of all ages. Maybe also to record the music yourself. Jonathan Bloxham began taking cello lessons at the age of 8 at the local music school and continued at the Yehudi Menuhin School before coming to London. A childhood dream was to become a conductor. He succeeded, and he began as assistant conductor at the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has conducted in many places and is now director of the opera in Lucerne in Switzerland, where he will set the artistic line. He is also the conductor of the London Mozart Players, and here the interest in getting the music out widely is also expressed, e.g. when the orchestra invited local amateur musicians to play in their hall, when the hometown of Croydon, south of London, was a city of culture. Bloxham believes that if you only get people in once for a classical concert, they will probably give up.

The masters of romance

Puccini's masterpiece is a true classic and one of the world's most beloved operas. With its immortal melodies tells Madame Butterfly the tragic story of an irresponsible and self-absorbed American lieutenant who falls in love with a Japanese geisha. However, he fails to live up to his marriage promise and leaves her - without knowing that she is pregnant

Madama Butterfly – Premiere

Esbjerg Performing Arts Centre

The Wiener Sängerknaben is one of the world's oldest boys' choirs. The excellent choir consists of boys aged 9 to 14, and they perform, among other things, every Sunday together with the Vienna Philharmonic and members of the Vienna State Opera Chorus in Vienna's Kaiserkapelle – a tradition that has lived on for over 500 years. The choir also goes on tour annually and excites audiences all over the world. And now they can be experienced together with musicians from Sønderjylland's Symphony Orchestra in an exciting and versatile programme.

Vienna Boys' Choir

Michala Petri is one of Denmark's most recognized soloists, and her talent on the recorder is legendary. Since her debut as a mere 11-year-old in Tivoli's Concert Hall in 1969, with her virtuosity and passion for the recorder, she has conquered the world's music stages and left her mark on the world of classical music for over 50 years. Now she dives once again into her absolute specialty: the magical universe of the Baroque. She lets the audience be seduced with lovely music by Vivaldi, as well as Bach's double concerto, originally written for violin and oboe, but tonight with Michala Petri's recorder as the main focus.

Michala Petri plays baroque

Schleswig Cathedral

The Church of the Brethren

Prepare for a musical journey through some of the most iconic soundtracks from famous fantasy films and games. Movie geeks and gamers, get ready, because now we celebrate the amazing music that has shaped our favorite universes! When it comes to navigating through the fantastical worlds of movies and games, there is one expert who stands out as the indispensable guide: Jakob Stegelmann. With decades of experience and a deep passion for the fantasy genre, he confidently guides us through the magical landscapes of music.

Fantasy symphony

He is one of Denmark's greatest singers, but we don't have him to ourselves. Johan Reuter, bass-baritone, sings on the big stages abroad. In recent years, i.a. in the party as the husband Barak in Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten – poignantly sung in e.g. London, New York, Berlin, and fortunately also at the Opera in Copenhagen. Johan Reuter was for a number of years a part of the Kgl. Theater's regular opera ensemble and is still on stage there, most recently in Heise's opera Drot og Marsk, where he played the Martian Stig, who avenges the king's abuse of his wife, with a voice that fits the role completely. A voice that can reach the back rows of the big opera houses, but which also has the finesse that allows him to sing the smaller formats, the songs. Brahms songs, Four serious songs, to texts from the Bible, needs both the power and the fervor Johan Reuter is famous for.

Reuter sings Brahms

Dmitri Shostakovich's 2nd and 3rd symphonies carried a clear political inspiration and patriotic tone, celebrating the Soviet revolution and the labor movement. Both symphonies were composed early in Shostakovich's career, and were favorably received by the Soviet government for their strongly patriotic character. In contrast, Shostakovich's 4th Symphony, composed in 1935-1936, was not met with the same level of enthusiasm by the Soviet authorities. The symphony was not actually performed publicly until 1961, when it was deemed too "dangerous" by the Soviet authorities due to its complex harmonies and emotional depth, which did not fit into Soviet art policy at the time. Only after Stalin's death was the symphony first performed. With its structure and wide musical range, Shostakovich's 4th Symphony requires an appropriate number of musicians and instruments. That is why, true to tradition, we have teamed up with the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Sinfonieorchester to take on the task.

Shostakovich's 4.

When Annas Sang is performed at concerts in June 2025, three generations of the musician Koppel family will be present in their own way: Benjamin Koppel, composer and saxophonist with his quartet; Anders Koppel, musician, composer and Benjamin's father, who arranged the music for symphony orchestra – and then Anna, the great-aunt, whose story Benjamin Koppel used when he debuted as a writer in 2022. It became a bestseller and the novel has received many awards.

Book concert: Anna's Song

Free Waldorf school

A car trip can lead to many places. It was Mozart's Requiem on a car radio that lit a spark. Mexican-American Robert Treviño was driving with his father, who was tuning into a classical music radio channel, and then he knew what the meaning of life was, so to speak: He wanted to be a conductor. He was only 8 years old then. He was not from a musical family, and it was only as a teenager that he could begin actual music lessons. Then he threw himself into the bassoon and several other instruments to get a feel for what an orchestra is. Robert Treviño was educated in the USA, but had his professional debut as a conductor in Germany when he was just 20. Since then he has been associated with orchestras both in the USA and Europe, from Malmö in Sweden, where he, among other things, recorded Beethoven's symphonies with the orchestra, to the Basque Country in northern Spain, where he is head of the Basque National Orchestra, with whom he has both recorded Ravel and rarely heard American works - he ranges widely. Wagner and Tchaikovsky are what he is excited about in South Jutland – music about love and its conflicts. Love songs, and a symphony from Tchaikovsky's divided mind.

Treviño conducts Wagner & Tchaikovsky

As we gather around the fire, we will remember the many moments we have shared throughout the season. We take a step back and consider the journey we've been on and celebrate the concerts, challenges and experiences that have shaped us as an orchestra. A special joy of this evening is the reunion with our former chief conductor, Johannes Wildner. Johannes not only brings his musical skills to the concert, but also his unique ability to create a connection between musicians and audience. His presence is a welcome reunion, reminding us of the wonderful memories we have made together over the years. Together with Johannes Wildner and our beloved audience, we look forward to the upcoming summer holidays, filled with sunshine, rest and new challenges in the coming season.

Skt. Hans Koncert

It is with an overwhelming sense of pride and humility that the orchestra has received the invitation to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival's 40th anniversary. This honor is not only proof of the orchestra's musical quality, but also a symbol of the unique collaboration that exists in the borderland. The festival has previously hosted big, famous names such as Leonard Bernstein, Christoph Eschenbach, Alan Gilbert, Andris Poga, Kent Nagano, Semyon Bychkov as well as Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori Gotō and Anne-Sophie Mutter. We look forward to presenting Beethoven's magnificent Missa Solemnis at the festival. Among the great Viennese classics such as Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, Mass compositions are considered a high point in their musical heritage. These composers created magnificent masses that often included choirs, four soloists, and an orchestra.

Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester

Apr 25, 2025

Reuter sings Brahms

27 - 28 May, 2025

Shostakovich's 4.

4 - 6 Jun, 2025

Book concert: Anna's Song

Jun 13, 2025

Treviño conducts Wagner & Tchaikovsky

Jun 23, 2025

Skt. Hans Koncert

10 - 12 Apr, 2025

The big spring

27 - 28 Mar, 2025

Fête galante

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Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester