With several awards and performances at major festivals and after winning three Grammy Awards, the Berlin Radio Choir is one of the best choirs in the world. The exceptional breadth of its repertoire, its stylistic, absolute precision, delight in experimentation, stunning responsiveness and an unmistakable warm, richly nuanced sound all contribute to make it one of the world’s outstanding choral ensembles and partner of international orchestras and conductors like Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann and Daniel Barenboim. The choir is the permanent partner of the Berlin Philharmonics as well as of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester and their conductors.

The Berlin Radio Choir’s experimental project series has attracted worldwide attention. With its annual activities for various target groups – the big “Sing Along Concert”, the “Liederbörse” (Song Exchange) for children and young people and the “Festival of Cultures” in the Berliner Philharmonie – as well as with the long-term education program “SING!” the Berlin Radio Choir invites people of all ages and walks of life to become immersed in the world of professional choral music.

As of season 2015/16 the Berlin Radio Choir will be directed by its new Principal Conductor and Artistic Director Gijs Leenaars. Simon Halsey was appointed Conductor Laureate and will retain his ties to the ensemble as regular guest conductor.

Simon Halsey was Principal Conductor of the Berlin Radio Choir from 2001 to 2015. He was awarded Conductor Laureate as part of his official farewell and will furthermore retain his ties to the ensemble as regular guest conductor. His enthusiasm, wit, perfectionism and passionate pedagogical dedication have made him one of the most sought-after choral conductors in the world.

Besides his work as a conductor and choral trainer, Halsey is also in demand as a pedagogue. In addition to his chair in choral conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff this recipient of two honorary doctorates took up a post at the University of Birmingham in autumn 2012. With the Berlin Radio Choir he established the Berlin International Masterclass. His teaching activities also include numerous guest lectureships – he has a particularly close association with the choral department of Yale University. In autumn 2011 his book on choral conducting “Chorleitung: Vom Konzept zum Konzert“ has been published in the Schott series Master Class.

For his outstanding contributions to choral music in Germany, Simon Halsey was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) in 2010. In March 2015 he was presented by Queen Elizabeth II with Her Majesty’s Medal for Music, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in June 2015.