Partnership with the Nationaltheater Mannheim

The Mannheim University Orchestra and the orchestra of the Nationaltheater Mannheim (NTO) have been successfully cooperating since September 2016. In addition to its regular activities at the opera of the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the nationally well-known symphony orchestra stages the academy concerts (Akademiekonzerte), one of the oldest concert series in Germany. What makes the academy concerts so special is the fact that they are organized in a unique way by the orchestra itself. Since 2016, the NTO has been under the direction of the chief conductor Alexander Soddy. 

The cooperation between the NTO and the university orchestra involves regular rehearsals of the individual voice groups under the direction of teachers from the NTO. This way, the members of the university orchestra have the additional opportunity to be professionally instructed in small musical groups. In return, the Mannheim University Orchestra offers musicians of the NTO a recurring platform for solo concertos, so that both orchestras benefit immensely from this cooperation.

We already performed the Schumann cello concerto with the first soloist Fritjof von Gagern and are looking forward to playing together with the first violist Alexander Petersen this semester. The cultural exchange between university and professional orchestras in this form is rare and therefore very valuable.

We thank the teachers of the NTO for meaningful, high-quality rehearsals and the great benefits we derive from this cooperation.