You are cordially invited to a captivating evening of choral harmony and musical delight!
Join us on Thursday, May 16th, at Saint Columba’s Church located at Budapest Vörösmarty St. 51, for a special collaborative concert featuring the Gabrieli Choir and the esteemed Mixed Choir of the Berlin Police.
Date: Thursday, May 16th
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Saint Columba’s Church, Budapest Vörösmarty St. 51
We look forward to welcoming you for an unforgettable evening of music and camaraderie.
Gemischter Chor der Polizei Berlin e.V.
The choir was founded in 1968 as a mixed choir. Currently, around 60 singers from various professions and areas of society sing in it. They value the joy of singing and a continuous artistic development of their choir, guided by the motto: “Singing is fun and brings people together!”
Since January 2007, the artistic direction of the Mixed Choir of the Berlin Police has been in the hands of Heiko Jerke. The repertoire includes and continues to include new secular and sacred vocal works as well as other demanding choral pieces from classical, folklore, opera, musical, hit songs, and pop. Often, these are arrangements or compositions by the choir director.
With annual major concerts, the choir successfully implements its concept of presenting diverse programs to the audience, often involving the concert attendees as a hall choir in some songs. Traditionally, friendly choirs are invited to jointly design concerts. On numerous concert tours at home and abroad, the choir convinced with original and versatile program contributions.
In selecting the repertoire, the choir’s performance capability is always taken into account, meaning literature is chosen that highlights the choir’s strengths and maintains its musical performance capability.
With the demographic change in society, which also affects the choir, this is not an easy task.
On December 14, 2018, the newly established Chamber Choir, launched in August 2018, presented itself to the public for the first time. With this, the Mixed Choir of the Berlin Police once again confirms its claim to musical diversity and tonal versatility.
What unites and drives choir directors, singers, and conductors are:
- the love for music
- the joy of singing
- the great feeling of pride when the choir senses that the music reaches and positively affects people.
Text: Delia Rosenbaum
Heiko Jerke (conductor)
Born in 1960 in Magdeburg, he began piano lessons at the age of 10 and actively participated in choir singing. From 1977 to 1979, he received vocal training in Leipzig at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music. Since August 1979, he has been a singer in the choir of the Erich-Weinert-Ensemble (EWE), and from 1990 to 2002, he was a member of the Berlin Men’s Choir / Vocal Ensemble “Carl Maria von Weber.” He completed professional singer training at EWE and subsequently pursued conducting studies at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin.
Starting in 1987, he served as the second choir director, tenor soloist, and music dramaturge, single-handedly responsible for the repertoire and program design of this nationally and internationally recognized vocal ensemble.
After the dissolution of the professional men’s choir in June 2002, Heiko Jerke has been working as a choir director and vocal coach in the amateur choir sector in Berlin since March 2003.
In the following years, arranging and composing have increasingly become integral parts of his artistic work. Initially, to lead and present the choirs under his direction effectively and appropriately, writing music gained more and more importance: Practical choral music in the 21st century, meaning compositions and arrangements that maintain connections to the tonal and melodic traditions of choral music from earlier centuries, especially from the Classical and Romantic periods, yet remain attractive and contemporary for today’s choir musicians.
Many of his numerous compositions and arrangements are available for viewing and free use for all interested choirs on www.heiko-jerke-chormusik.de.
Text: Heiko Jerke
The Gemischter Chor der Polizei Berlin is conducted by Heiko Jerke, Márk Szabó conducts the Gabrieli Choir.
