Get to know us
NOONSONG
Date | 12 noon
NEXT NOONSONG
What is NoonSong? Or the church is full on Saturdays
Invitation to a 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 feature. Get to know the “power plant of God”.
NoonSong – Die Idee
Prof. Stefan Schuck beschreibt die Entstehung des NoonSongs von der ersten Idee bis heute. | Auszug aus dem Programmbuch des Festivals zum 500. NoonSong, Februar 2020
We are NoonSong – professional and voluntary
May we introduce ourselves to you?
The weekly NoonSong is not achievable 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 schloss 1987 sein Studium der katholischen Kirchenmusik an der Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Frankfurt/M. . Anschließend studierte er in Frankfurt Chor- und Orchesterleitung bei Uwe Gronostay und Jiri Starek.
Ab 1989 war er an der UdK Berlin im Fach Chorleitung tätig, von 1992 bis 1997 war er künstlerischer Mitarbeiter von Uwe Gronostay. Während dieser Zeit kam es zu einem intensiven Austausch mit Eric Ericson in Stockholm.
Seit Sommer 1992 ist Schuck Dirigent des Hugo-Distler-Chors Berlin, der seither eine Vielzahl positiv beachteter Konzerte im In- und Ausland gab.
1998 wurde Schuck zum Professor für Chor- und Orchesterleitung an der Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Rottenburg-Stuttgart berufen.
Seit 2013 arbeitet er als freiberuflicher Dirigent. Schuck hat mit zahlreichen professionellen Chören zusammengearbeitet, u.a. dem Niederländischen Kammerchor Amsterdam, dem Kölner Rundfunkchor, dem Berliner Rundfunkchor und dem SWR-Vokalensemble Stuttgart. Seine Chor- und Orgelkonzerte wurden u.a. im Deutschlandradio und im Südwestrundfunk übertragen.
1998 erhielt Schuck den Hans-Joachim-Erhard-Gedächtnispreis der Stadt Aschaffenburg, 2012 wurde er für seine kulturelle Arbeit mit der Bürgermedaille des Bezirkes Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf ausgezeichnet.
Er ist Mitbegründer des Projektes KinderStimmen der Lernwerkstatt Berlin, Eigenbetrieb von Kindergärten City, mit dem Ziel der stimmpädagogischen Arbeit mit Vorschulkindern 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 …
Singers: Soprano
Anette Lösch, Soprano
Elisabeth Fischer, Soprano
Jin Kim, Soprano
Bianca Reim, Soprano
Katja Kunze, Soprano
Julia Ströhle, Soprano
Miriam Fahnert, Soprano
Singers: Alto
Anja Simon, Alt
Andrea Effmert, Alto
Wiebke Kretzschmar, Alto
Sibylla Maria Löbbert, Alto
Alice Lackner, Alto
Roksolana Chraniuk, 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
Nicolas Boulanger, Bass-Baritone
Organ players
Daniel Clark, Organ player
Mirlan Kasymaliev, Organ player
Liturgists
Minister Anna Kim-Chi Nguyen-Huu
Minister Barbara Deml
Minister Alexander Brodt-Zabka
Church service and sound engineer
Valentin Kahl, Sound engineer
Barbara Reier, Church service
Antje Reier, Church service
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 | Friederike von Kirchbach, Second Chairwoman | Christine Isbrecht, Treasurer
The Board of Trustees
We accompany the NoonSong
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“Der Noon Song – das klingende Geschenk für Geist und Seele. Wer die heilsame Kraft der Töne und Melodien sucht, richtet seine Schritte am Samstagmittag in die Kirche Am Hohenzollernplatz. Angefangen von den Psalmen über jahrhundertealte Choräle und Motetten bis hin zu zeitgenössischen Kompositionen dringt die stärkende Kraft der geistlichen Musik an Herz und Verstand, immer auf ‘s neue ein Vergnügen, Trost und Freude für den ganzen Menschen.”