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NOONSONG
Saturday | 12 noon
NEXT NOONSONG
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What is NoonSong? Or the church is full on Saturdays
Invitation to the midday retreat
Already in the first early Christian congregations, people sang: “Let psalms, hymns and songs resound in your midst as the Spirit inspires them. Sing and rejoice with all your heart to the praise of the Lord!” wrote the Apostle Paul in his letters. Especially with the emergence of the monastic orders, the sung word of God unfolded. Choral prayers structure the monastic everyday life.
However, the common singing of the psalms also became part of the Anglican Church. In England, a special worship meditation developed from evening and night prayer, the “Evensong”. Many colleges and cathedrals have outstandingly trained choirs participating.
In 2008, the choirmaster and conductor Stefan Schuck developed the concept of the “NoonSong” for Berlin. With the then Berlin Bishop Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Huber of the Protestant Church and the Catholic liturgical scholar Prof. Dr. Andreas Odenthal, the musician reconstructed a form of liturgy that has a great appeal to people in the metropolis of Berlin.
Saturday after Saturday, the nave at Hohenzollernplatz is filled to capacity. The visitors let themselves be carried away, comforted and enchanted by sacred vocal music. They gather for half an hour to recharge with choral singing, Bible reading, intercessions and the Lord’s Prayer.
In NoonSong, scripture reading and prayer are taken over by Protestant pastors and Catholic clergy. Former Bishop Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Huber and Archbishop Dr. Heiner Koch regularly take part in the particularly festive pre-Christmas NoonSong at the church Am Hohenzollernplatz.
The Church Am Hohenzollernplatz Berlin
The church building focuses the Hohenzollernplatz on itself and, with its 66m high tower (including the cross) on the north side of the choir, creates a dominant urban landmark. Get to know the “God’s Power Station”. Get to know the “power plant of God”.
NoonSong – The Idea
Prof. Stefan Schuck describes the development of the NoonSong from the first idea until today. | Excerpt from the programme book of the 500th anniversary festival. NoonSong, February 2020
We are the NoonSong – professional and voluntary
May we introduce ourselves to you?
The weekly NoonSong is not feasible without a large team of contributors. Liturgists, organists, singers, conductor, church service and sound engineer work together every Saturday. Here we introduce you to the great and wonderful NoonSong team.
Musical Director & Conductor
STEFAN SCHUCK
In 2008, the choirmaster and conductor Stefan Schuck developed the concept of the “NoonSong” for Berlin. With the then Berlin Bishop Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Huber of the Protestant Church and the Catholic liturgical scholar Prof. Dr. Andreas Odenthal, the musician reconstructed a form of liturgy that has a great appeal to people in the metropolis of Berlin.
Vita
Stefan Schuck completed his studies in Catholic church music at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Frankfurt/M. in 1987. . He then studied choral and orchestral conducting in Frankfurt with Uwe Gronostay and Jiri Starek.
From 1989 he was active in choral conducting at the UdK Berlin, and from 1992 to 1997 he was an artistic assistant to Uwe Gronostay. During this time there was an intensive exchange with Eric Ericson in Stockholm.
Since the summer of 1992, Schuck has been the conductor of the Hugo-Distler-Chor Berlin, which has since given a large number of positively acclaimed concerts in Germany and abroad.
In 1998, Schuck was appointed professor of choral and orchestral conducting at the Rottenburg-Stuttgart College of Church Music.
Since 2013 he has been working as a freelance conductor. Schuck has worked with numerous professional choirs, including the Netherlands Chamber Choir Amsterdam, the Cologne Radio Choir, the Berlin Radio Choir and the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart. His choir and organ concerts have been broadcast on Deutschlandradio and Südwestrundfunk, among others.
In 1998, Schuck received the Hans-Joachim Erhard Memorial Prize from the city of Aschaffenburg, and in 2012 he was awarded the Citizen’s Medal of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district for his cultural work.
He is a co-founder of the KinderStimmen project of Lernwerkstatt Berlin, owned by Kindergärten City, with the goal of voice pedagogical work with preschool children in Wedding/Kreuzberg.
Professional vocal ensemble
SIRVENTES BERLIN
The professional vocal ensemble sirventes berlin with singers from Berlin was founded in 2003 by Stefan Schuck. Since 2008, regular music-making for the NoonSong has grown out of the project-based way of working. The outstanding quality of the ensemble results from this intensive regular joint work.
Around the performance
CONTRIBUTORS
In NoonSong, scripture reading and prayer are taken over by Protestant pastors and Catholic clergy. The organ will be played for the entrance and exit. The sound engineer is responsible for the audio archive, and the church service prepares and follows up the church hall for services and events.
Singers: Soprano
Anette Lösch, Soprano
Elisabeth Fischer, Soprano
Jin Kim, Soprano
Bianca Reim, Soprano
Katja Kunze, Soprano
Miriam Fahnert, Soprano
Singers: Alto
Anja Simon, Alt
Andrea Effmert, Alto
Wiebke Kretzschmar, Alto
Sibylla Maria Löbbert, Alto
Alice Lackner, Alto
Winnie Brückner, Mezzo-soprano
Philipp Cieslewicz, Altus
Singers: Tenor
Ulrich Löns, Tenor
Martin Netter, Tenor
Masashi Tsuij, Tenor
Volker Nietzke, Tenor
Hans Dieter Gillessen, Tenor
Singers: Bass
Jakob Ahles, Baritone
Martin Backhaus, Bass
Tobias Hagge, Bass
Thomas Heiß, Baritone
Werner Blau, Bass
Till Schulze, Baritone
Organ players
Daniel Clark, Organ player
Mirlan Kasymaliev, Organ player
Liturgists
Minister Anna Kim-Chi Nguyen-Huu
Minister Barbara Deml
Church service, sound engineer, data maintenance
Valentin Kahl, Sound engineer
Barbara Reier, Church service
Antje Reier, Church service
Dr. Claudio Müller, Data Maintenance and Support of the Audio Archive Database
The Supporting Association
The foundation of the NoonSong
Would the NoonSong still exist if the members of the supporting association had not been at its side since 2008? Certainly not!
At first it was just a handful of citizens interested in music and culture, mainly from the congregation of the Protestant Church Am Hohenzollernplatz. In the meantime, there are over 170 music-loving people who reliably accompany the paths of the NoonSong. It is their membership fees that form the basic financial resources and thereby ensure the existence of NoonSong to this day.
The congregation Am Hohenzollernplatz has been a generous host since the beginning by making the church and a rehearsal room available. Otherwise, NoonSong has developed independently of church structures and consequently does not receive any institutional funding.
The NoonSong is supported by the sponsoring association NoonSong e.V.
The Board of Directors consists of: Stefan Schuck, Chairman | Martin Germer, Second Chairman | Christine Isbrecht, Treasurer
The Supporting Association NoonSong e.V. is recognized as a non-profit organization due to the promotion of cultural purposes by certificate of the Tax Office for Corporations I Berlin, tax number 27/673/54727 dated 8.8.2023.
The Board of Trustees
We accompany the NoonSong
On May 2, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the NoonSong was constituted. Currently, six personalities provide their expertise to NoonSong in an advisory capacity. They represent areas of public life in Berlin: culture, press, politics and business.
The Board of Trustees meets twice a year under the chairmanship of attorney Gabriele Sons.
Members of the Board of Trustees are:
Prof. Monika Grütters
Jacqueline Hénard
Gabriele Sons
Dr. Hans-Gerhard Hannesen
Udo Marin
Bernd Wieczorek
“The Noon Song – the sounding gift for mind and soul. Those seeking the healing power of sounds and melodies will direct their steps to the church Am Hohenzollernplatz on Saturday at noon. From the Psalms to centuries-old chorales and motets to contemporary compositions, the restorative power of sacred music penetrates the heart and mind, always a pleasure, comfort, and joy for the whole person.”