Address: Schönebecker Str. 129, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany

The Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg offers excellent conditions for the performance of classical chamber music from baroque to modern times. As a municipal " Haus der Musik" (House of Music), the chamber music venue plays a central role in the cultivation of music in the state capital of Magdeburg. This thus corresponds to the ideas of the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who designed the house entirely in the spirit of the city fathers as a venue for amusements, festivities, and concerts. The two halls of the house, with their very special acoustics that are ideally suited for different instrumental and vocal ensembles and stylistic orientations, enable the optimal performance of a wide range of musical programs. With the Center for Telemann Care and Research, the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg is home to a research institute with an international reputation. Thanks to these excellent facilities, four subscription series of baroque, piano and chamber music as well as the Central German Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra have been held in the Gesellschaftshaus to date. In addition, the house is home to various festivals with the participation of internationally renowned performers, a series of children's concerts and CD productions. Last but not least, the Gesellschaftshaus offers selected ambitious ensembles of amateur musical creation the opportunity to hold regular rehearsals in its rooms.

Photos: Telemann-Zentrum, R. Hartmann

Address: Johannisbergstraße 1, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany

The church was first mentioned under the name Sankt Johannis in 1160. The oldest merchant's church in Germany, which was destroyed several times and rebuilt again and again, became known mainly through the sermon of the reformer Martin Luther on June 26, 1524, with which Protestantism entered Magdeburg. The church was severely damaged during air raids on Magdeburg during World War II on September 28, 1944 and January 16, 1945. After the war, cleanup began in 1953. In 2004, successive repairs were completed and the church was finished. Since then it has been used as a festival hall and concert hall of the city of Magdeburg.

The bronze statue of Martin Luther in front of the church was created by Emil Hundrieser in 1886. For a time, the inscription "Doctor Martin Luther +1524+" was located at the base of the monument. After the political change in 1989 the monument received the inscription " Gottes Wort mit uns in Ewigkeit" ("God's word with us forever").

Photos: Andreas Lander, Studi43

Address: Universitätspl. 9, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany

The Theater Magdeburg operates as a municipal four-section theater in two venues: The Magdeburg Opera House was built in 1906/07 as the "Centraltheater" and established itself as a privately run Varieté and Operetta stage. Today, it shines with a variety of events in the Opera House at the Universitätsplatz - with top-class operas, operettas, musicals, symphony concerts as well as ballets. The Schauspielhaus at the Friedensplatz offers classical and contemporary drama and comedies as well as numerous special formats. In summer, the Theater Magdeburg stages large-scale, nationally acclaimed open-air musical performances on the Domplatz.

Photo: Andreas Langer

Address: Tessenowstraße 11, 39114 Magdeburg, Germany

In the 1930s, the house of the current Altes Theater (Old Theater) on Jerichower Platz was built as part of the Hindenburg military barracks and used as a riding and drill hall. After the 2nd World War, the Soviet Army moved into these barracks. The building served as a cinema hall for the members of the army. In 1992, the building was converted into a full-fledged theater with a large stage, associated stage equipment and a movable orchestra pit. Since March 2006, the house has been operated privately by the "Altes Theater am Jerichower Platz gGmbH". The Old Theater is located in the direct vicinity of the Elbauenpark of the state capital Magdeburg. The theater has its own restaurant, which provides guests with drinks and snacks at two bars and in the outdoor area.

Photos: Altes Theater (Meta - Team, Lutz Völkl)

Address: Neustädter Str. 4, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany

St. Petri Church Magdeburg formed the center of faith in the twelfth century for a former fishing village called Frose, behind the walls of Magdeburg. The parish church was named after the patron saint to whom it was dedicated, the apostle Peter. He was primarily supposed to protect fishermen and skippers, who went about their hard work on the Elbe every day in Frose. Destroyed several times (1213, 1631, World War II), it was not until 1970 that a new Catholic church consecration could take place. Since the 1990s, the hall church is represented by the order of the Premonstratensians, which also leads the parish. Furthermore, it is known as the Catholic University Church.

Photos: Pater Prof. Dr. Clemens Dölken, Andrea Leinenbach

Address: Nicolaipl., 39124 Magdeburg, Germany

The first church designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel stands in Magdeburg. The Nicolai Church, built between 1821 and 1824, still characterizes the Neue Neustadt district today. Together with the Hope Parish and the Reformation Parish of Rothensee, the parish of St. Nicolai forms the Kirchspiel Nord. An important focus of the congregation's work is church music. In addition to the parish choir and the children's and youth choir, there are various instrumentalists who are mainly involved in the church services, and the trombone choir, the "Neustadt-Bläser".

Photos: Kathrin Singer

Address: Heinrich-Heine-Platz 5, 39114 Magdeburg, Germany

The beach club in the city park in Magdeburg with fine south sea sand and its stylish-urban interior invites you to relax and feel good with cocktails, long drinks and juices. The Montego Beachclub is unique in Saxony-Anhalt and convinces not only with real vacation feeling in the middle of the city, but also with a club culture of a special kind - beach clubbing.

Photo: Kossmann

Bernard Krüger is currently the Director of Music at Kearsney College, a leading independent school for boys in South Africa. Prior to this post, he was the Artistic Director of the Drakensberg Boys Choir School – a specialist educational institution using choral singing as a vehicle to teach music and all other academic applications to boys in South Africa.

He is a composer and arranger for local and international ensembles, a cappella groups, choirs and orchestras. Krüger studied conducting at the Koninklijk Conservatorium (Royal Conservatory) in The Hague, Netherlands, with Jos van Veldhoven and Jos Vermunt, received masterclasses from Simon Halsey, Paul Hillier, Jaap v Zweden, Tonu Kaljuste, Steve Reich, Masaaki Suzuki and Nathalie Stutzmann.

He is frequently in demand for workshops at conferences and festivals in South Africa and abroad, particularly for South African choral music and performance practice and was member of the jury at the Johannes Brahms Competition (2011), the European Choir Games (2013), the World Choir Games (2014), Canta al Mar (2016) as well as competitions and eisteddfods in South Africa.

In 2017, the Drakensberg Boys Choir, under Bernard’s direction, toured to Japan and performed in front of 38,500 people over 25 concerts in all major cities and in 2018, the Drakensberg Boys Choir was crowned Champions of the WCG in Tshwane in the category Scenic Pop. In 2019, Bernard led the DBC to perform at the official 20th Anniversary concert of The Lion King on the West End in London, in a joint performance with Lebo M and the cast.

Bernard is no stranger to the Kearsney College Choir and worked with them from 2009-2015 as well, and during this time, the choir was twice crowned WCG Champions (2012 and 2014).

Bernard Krüger is actively involved in the promotion of choral music in South Africa and believes choral music will one day be the driving force to bring peace and understanding across cultures, borders, religions and all nations on Earth.

Marit Tøndel Bodsberg received her Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the University of Agder/Music Conservatory of Kristiansand, with major areas of study in composition, singing and flute. In 2005, she was the only student accepted to study for a Master's degree in conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music. The leading Norwegian choirs and ensembles with which Bodsberg has worked include the Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Vocal Art, Gjøvik Sinfonietta, Mjøsmusikk, the Oslo Chamber Choir, the Norwegian Academy of Music Chamber Choir, and the Ringsaker Opera. In addition to conducting Kvindelige Studenterssangforening, she is also artistic director and conductor of the Vestoppland Chamber Choir, the Norwegian Student Choral Society and she is a University Lecture at the Academy of Music in Oslo.
In the autumn of 2012, Bodsberg Weyde was awarded the Conductor’s Prize for Kvindelige Studenterssangforening’s performance at Norway’s national choral competition, and in the summer of 2015 she led the same choir to victory in the European Choir Games and Grand Prix of Nations. In the autumn of 2015 she received the Conductor Prize while competing with the Vestoppland Chamber Choir at the Canta al Mar competition in Spain, and again at the Anton Bruckner Choir Competition and Festival in Linz in the summer of 2017 while competing together with the Norwegian Student Choral Society.

Martin Wagner was a Dresden chapelboy and studied repetition, piano and orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden.

In 1997 he was invited to the State Operetta for the German premiere of Webber's "Aspects of Love", where he worked as director of studies, choir director and conductor. For the Dresden Music Festival in 2002 he was responsible for the choral production of "Jesus Christ Superstar".

In 2006 Wagner moved to the Theater Magdeburg as choir director. He conducts the opera choir, the Magdeburger Singakademie and the opera children's choir of the conservatory "Georg Philipp Telemann". His productions include "Lohengrin", "Aida", "Turandot", "Jenůfa", "War Requiem", the German premiere of Zdeněk Fibich's "The Bride of Messina" and Gottfried von Einem's "Dantons Death".

Martin Wagner composed and arranged for the Philharmonie Magdeburg, the Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie and for the "Festival der Vergessenen Musik" 2006 in Görlitz. In 2013 his children's opera "Das Rote Horn" premiered at the Schauspielhaus Magdeburg. In 2014 he completed the master class for orchestration & recording in the context of the Film Music Days Halle.

As a conductor Martin Wagner directed performances of "My Fair Lady", "Jekyll & Hyde", "The Beggar Student", "The Merry Widow", "Titanic" and "The Beauty and the Beast" at the DomplatzOpenAir in Magdeburg's opera house as well as the closing concerts of the choir festival in 2012 and 2016.

In 2015 Martin Wagner received the "Friends Prize" (Freundeskreis) of the Förderverein Theater Magdeburg e.V.