Netherlands Radio Choir / Groot Omroepkoor
Since its founding in 1947, the Netherlands Radio Choir has established an impressive record. The choir is composed of professionally trained singers with a repertoire from the Renaissance to the present. This versatility is directly related to the choir's role as a broadcasting ensemble and as a partner of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Their mission is to perform music not heard anywhere else, has not been discovered, is in danger of being forgotten or was recently composed, alongside the standard repertoire.
The programmes for the public broadcasting series NTR Saturday Matinee, Vredenburg Friday Evening concert series and the Concertgebouw's Sunday Morning Concert series, in which the Netherlands Radio Choir frequently performs, are living proof. The choir is also a regular participant in special productions of the Holland Festival.
The Netherlands Radio Choir is frequently invited to perform with other orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Berliner Philharmoniker.
The choir’s comprehensive repertoire and high quality standards demand that vocalists have high technical skill. The choir’s exceptional reputation for its renderings of contemporary music yields them many invitations to perform outside the Netherlands. Currently chief conductor Gijs Leenaars and principal guest conductor Michael Gläser are fully committed to advancing both the quality and reputation of the Netherlands Radio Choir.