Jugendmusiziergruppe „Michael Praetorius“ Leipzig

In the artist's words:

Known far beyond the borders of Leipzig, this youth ensemble has made a name for itself since its founding in 1976 thanks to its unique format: In addition to their orchestral instruments or recorders, the young musicians play historical instruments, particularly those from the era of their namesake, Michael Praetorius. Wind instruments such as the shawm, cornamuse, pommer, and dulcian are used most frequently, but the ensemble also features the fiddle, rebec, viola da gamba, portative organ, and glockenspiel. In addition to early music and the music of the Leipzig Thomaskantors, another focus of the ensemble is the (world) premiere of contemporary works.

The ensemble has earned high acclaim on tours to the U.S., Russia, Israel, France, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Italy, and Sweden, as well as through numerous concerts within Germany.

In 2016, the “Michael Praetorius” youth music group won first prize at the German Orchestra Competition in Ulm. Numerous collaborations with (inter)national youth ensembles such as the Leipzig Children’s and Youth Opera Choir, the Stadtsingechor Halle, the Permonik Choir from Karviná, Chór Nowodworski from Kraków, Poland; La Maîtrise de la cathédrale du Puy-en-Velay from France; the Girls’ Choir of Nidaros Cathedral from Trondheim, Norway; and the

youth orchestras of the Kulturskolan in Umeå complement the artistic work of the youth music group. Professional musicians and ensembles from the early music scene—such as Gregor Meyer, Ensemble 1684, the lautten compagney Berlin, Gaby Bultmann and Daniele Ruzzier, La Protenzione della Musica, Ian Harrison, Martin Erhardt, Ensemble all’improvviso, Mareike Greb, and many others regularly collaborate and perform with the young people.

In Germany, the orchestra stands out due to its unique repertoire. It was founded in 1976 by Luise Rummel and today brings together approximately 35 young musicians aged 12 to 20 under the direction of Andreas Künzel and Judith Gerhardt.