Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir 40 Years
Saturday 29 March, 18:00
(Doors open at 17:15)
Oslo Cathedral
Adult: 400 NOK
Senior/student: 300 NOK
Child: 50 NOK
Duration: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir 40 Years
WORLD PREMIERE:
Marcus Paus: Dona Nobis Pacem
Staats- und Domchor Berlin
Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir
Kai-Uwe Jirka, conductor
David Maiwald, conductor
Excellent boys’ choirs
In 2025, Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir celebrates 40 years. The choir has a special responsibility to promote and develop church singing and church music in and outside of Oslo, and has through many years delivered music at a high artistic level. On the occasion of their 40th anniversary, we have invited the renowned German boys’ choir Staats- und Domchor Berlin, one of our time’s best boys’ choirs, and their conductor Kai-Uwe Jirka, to a grand anniversary concert. The two choirs will have their own solo sections, with Mozart’s Magnificat KV 193and folk songs from Germany and Eastern Europe. Together, they will perform beautiful choir music by Francis Poulenc, Kåre Nordstoga, Frode Alnæs, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, the festival has commissioned a new work by Marcus Paus, the choir work Dona Nobis Pacem ‘Give us peace’, which will be performed by the two choirs in its world premiere.
Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir was founded in 1985 by cathedral cantor Terje Kvam and conductor Carl Høgset. The choir is built on the English model, where all of the boys sing soprano. The voices of alto, tenor, and bass are taken care of by adult men’s voices. The boys’ choir is an important part of Oslo’s musical life, regularly participating in larger professional productions. Several important professional musicians have a background in the choir, among them the singers Yngve A. Søberg, Johannes Weisser, Daniel Sæther, and organist Anders E. Dahl. The choir is conducted by David Maiwald.
German-French David Maiwald is a versatile musician and conductor. He has a background as a composer, pianist, and viola player. He has been the chorus master at different opera houses in Germany, and held the same position for many years at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo. Maiwald has conducted several performances and concerts at the Opera, in addition to projects with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and several different performances at the Oscarsborg Opera. He is the conductor for Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir, and has done large opera and church musical projects for and with children and youth. David Maiwald is a sought-after arranger and has received several awards and grants for his versatile work, among them from Richar-Wagner-Verband and from Musiktheater heute.
Staats- und Domchor Berlin has roots back to the middle of the 15th century, and is one of the most acclaimed boys’ choirs in Europe, as well as Berlin’s oldest musical institution. It was under the artistic direction of Felix Mendelssohn-Barholdy that the choir became internationally known. The choir’s repertoire consists of an expansive selection of both sacred and secular choral works, stretching from the Renaissance until present times. The choir is currently conducted by Kai-Uwe Jirka.
Kai-Uwe Jirka is one of Germany’s leading choir conductors, and has since 2002 been a professor of choir direction and conductor for Staats- und Domchor Berlin at Universität der Künste Berlin. He is also the artistic director of Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, who is considered to be the oldest mixed choir in the world. In collaboration with Lautten Compagney, he has directed premieres of works from the 16th century, brought back from oblivion from the archives of Sing-Akademie. Another central part of Jirka’s work is his passion for contemporary music. In the last couple of years, he has conducted premieres of works by contemporary composers such as Luke Bedford, Jörg Birkenkötter, Michael Wertmüller, Christfried Schmidt, and Katia Tchemberdji.
Marcus Paus (b. 1979) is one of the most commissioned and performed Norwegian composers of his generation. His list of works includes chamber music, solo pieces, choir and vocal music, concerts and other orchestra works, a symphony, and several operas, as well as music for movies, theatre, and TV. Paus has made a name for himself as a representative for a new orientation towards tradition, tonality, and melodiousness, and his music has garnered acclaim both in Norway and abroad for its expressiveness and virtuosity. Paus’ works are regularly played in Norway, Europe, and USA.
Photo: David Maiwald: Erik Berg, SDC: Johannes Jost, Kai-Uwe Jirka: Udo Siegfriedt
