Collett, Sæmundsson, Gornik, Aachen Opernchor, Sinfonieorchestra Aachen & Christopher Ward
Biography Collett, Sæmundsson, Gornik, Aachen Opernchor, Sinfonieorchestra Aachen & Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward
was born in London in 1980. He studied at Oxford University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2003 he became a fellow at Scottish Opera and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. In 2004 he was a member of the Zurich International Opera Studio before moving to the Staatstheater Kassel as Kapellmeister and Solo Repetiteur in 2005. In 2006 he assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonic in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" first in Aix-en-Provence, then in Berlin and Salzburg. In 2009 he became conductor and assistant to Kent Nagano at the Bavarian State Opera. Here he took over the musical direction of new productions of Rossini's "La cenerentola" and Janácek's "The Cunning Little Vixen" and conducted performances of Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia", world premieres of Eötvös' "The Devil's Tragedy", Ronchetti's "Ship of Fools" and Srnka's "Make no noise" as well as numerous concerts. He has also made guest appearances at the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Komische Oper, the Graz Opera, the Salzburg Landestheater and the Staatstheater Mainz. In 2014 Christopher Ward became 1st Kapellmeister at the Saarland State Theatre, where he conducted new productions of Weber's "Der Freischütz", Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" and "Rigoletto", Ravel's "L'enfant et les sortilèges", Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Golden Cockerel", Dvorák's "Rusalka", various ballet evenings and numerous concerts, among others. In 2017/18 debuts followed with new productions of Britten's "Billy Budd" at the National Theatre Prague and Bernstein's "Candide" at the Bremen Theatre, as well as the revival of Gounod's "Faust" at the Hamburg State Opera. Since August 2018, Christopher Ward has been General Music Director of the City of Aachen, thus also leading the Aachen Symphony Orchestra.
The Aachen Symphony Orchestra
demonstrates enormous diversity with 140 performances annually in the concert hall and as an opera orchestra. Its repertoire ranges from performances of early music and the great works of musical tradition to contemporary works and crossover projects. The orchestra is one of the oldest sounding bodies in Germany. First mentioned in 1720, it was involved in one of the first performances of Beethoven's 9th Symphony outside Vienna in 1825 and then played in the first performances of "Fidelio" and "Freischütz" in Paris in 1829. Since 1852 it has been run as a municipal orchestra.
Internationally important conductors have worked in Aachen as guest conductors or as music directors. Among the guest conductors were Richard Strauss, Felix Weingartner, Karl Muck, Hans Pfitzner and Clemens Krauss, who conducted mainly at the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Aachen. The orchestra's development over the years has been decisively shaped by music directors such as Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch, whose careers began in Aachen.
Christopher Ward has been General Music Director of the City of Aachen since August 2018. He thus acts as musical director of the theatre and principal conductor of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra.
Aachen Symphony Orchestra
With 140 annual performances in the concert hall and opera house, the Aachen Symphony Orchestra demonstrates enormous versatility, presenting classical and romantic repertoire alongside period performances of early music, premieres of contemporary music and diverse crossover projects. Initially cited in 1720, it is one of the oldest orchestras in Germany, and most notably in 1825 gave one of the first performances of Beethoven's 9th Symphony outside Vienna, and later the French premieres of “Fidelio” and Weber’s “Freischütz” in Paris. It has been the municipal orchestra of Aachen since 1852.
The orchestra has enjoyed working with many conductors of international renown. Past guest conductors include Richard Strauss, Felix Weingartner, Karl Muck, Hans Pfitzner and Clemens Krauss, who often appeared as part of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival, one of the most important classical music festivals of its day. Moreover, the position of “Generalmusikdirektor” has provided a significant step to a number of important conducting careers including Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Christopher Ward has been Generalmusikdirektor of the City of Aachen since August 2018, and thereby the chief conductor of Theater Aachen and Aachen Symphony Orchestra.
