With its exciting programmes and lively performances, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra ranks in the upper league of concert orchestras in Germany.
The orchestra has its fi nger on the pulse with its innovative concert formats that showcase diversity, a love of experimentation and an appetite for unusual collaborations.
Simon Gaudenz has been the orchestra’s general music director since 2018/2019.
The Jena Philharmonic Orchestra makes guest appearances in Germany’s major concert halls and has also distinguished itself internationally on many tours, which have so far taken it to Italy, France, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Armenia and China.
Invitations to festivals in Switzerland and Italy, including the Mahler Weeks in Dobbiaco, have been planned for 2022.
Twice, in 1999 and 2002, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra received the prize for the best concert programme of the season.
From 2017 to 2020, it was one of the orchestras that received funding from the federal government as part of the ‘Excellent Orchestral Landscape in Germany’ programme.
The orchestra is the long-standing partner for the conducting classes of the Weimar University of Music, as well as for the annual ‘International Weimar Masterclasses’.
The orchestra, founded in 1934, has borne the name Jena Philharmonic Orchestra since 1969.
Artistic directors have included Christian Ehwald, Andrey Boreyko and Nicholas Milton.
Three choirs are associated with the Philharmonic, representing the whole range of vocal music from the great choral symphony to the chamber choir repertoire and boys’ choir.
The main venue for the Jena Philharmonic and these choirs is the Volkshaus, built around 1900, with its recently renovated historic Ernst Abbe Hall.
