Artists

The World Choir for Peace is open to singers and choirs from around the world to perform in concerts for peace. Their initial concert was in 2018 performing Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man in Berlin and conducted by the composer himself. This marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with 2,000 singers from more than 30 countries. This concert was televised in several European countries and performed together with the World Orchestra for Peace. The choir was founded by conductor Nicol Matt under the patronage of the German UNESCO Commission in 2018.  Following the outstanding success of the event, the World Choir for Peace has become committed to being a musical ambassador for peace worldwide. The choir has been established internationally, in cooperation with the city of Hannover, UNESCO and the Mayors for Peace organisation. If you are an interested singer or choir then please sign up for this and/or future events.

Dutch – South Korean, award-winning harpist Lavinia Meijer is one of the most diverse harpists of the 21st century. After her debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York in 2007, she is invited regularly to perform as a soloist in Europe, Asia and America. In 2007 she was awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and in 2009 the Dutch Music Prize, the highest distinction by the Dutch Government for a Dutch classical musician. In 2014 she joined the Dutch King and Queen during their State visit to South Korea and performed a solo evening. Meijer is passionate about broadening the possibilities of the harp. Her affinity with the music of Philip Glass and her intense ground breaking renditions of his music have mesmerised audiences across the world. Her albums Metamorphosis/The Hours and The Glass Effect interpret works of Philip Glass, a process Glass himself was involved in. Their meeting marked the beginning of a new musical journey for Lavinia. Her albums are released worldwide (Channel Classics, Sony Classics) and have been rewarded with an Edison Award and a golden and platinum-status. She performed several times at the Tibet House Charity Concert in Carnegie Hall New York, invited by Philip Glass. She is ambassador of Save a Child’s Heart and supports WarChild.

The Core Choir consists of 36 professional singers from 23 different nations. Many of whom performed on the 2020 Sony debut album “Peaceful Choir”, consisting of works from current composers and many newly commissioned songs. They were joined by Sony Classical Artists; Lavinia Meijer, Gereon Theis, Esther Abrami, Maarja Nuut, Tim Allhoff and Josefa Schmidt.  During the International Week for Peace they will be working closely with John Rutter and performing some of his works alongside his Requiem on the 6th August. They will also be performing at the Gala Concert on 7th August with a selection of songs taken from the album and new works featuring Lavinia Meijer.

The World Orchestra for Peace was founded by Sir Georg Solti and Charles Kaye and first assembled for a concert in Geneva to mark the 50th anniversary of the UN Charter in 1995.  Solti believed passionately in the ‘unique strength of music as an ambassador for peace’ and in the 27 years since then more than 650 players, from 125 leading orchestras in 70 countries have given their services without fee for 31 concerts around the world - marking important anniversaries for peace or celebrating reconstruction after war. They always have up to 25% new talented players of the younger generation, who gain huge benefit from playing next to their more experienced senior colleagues around the world! They were the first Orchestra to be designated UNESCO Artists for Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors in 2010 - and are happy to join their sister organisation the World Choir for Peace as orchestral collaborative partner for this first International Week for Peace in Hannover.

John Rutter is an English composer and conductor, associated mainly with choral music and active internationally for many years. His larger choral works, Gloria, Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, The Gift of Life, and Visions, are widely performed around the world, and many of his shorter pieces such as The Lord bless you and keep you, For the beauty of the earth, Look at the world, and All things bright and beautiful have become ‘standards’. He has composed or arranged many Christmas carols. He established the Collegium record label in 1983 as a vehicle for recordings with his professional chamber choir the Cambridge Singers, and they have made over fifty recordings. He has enjoyed a long association with Clare College, Cambridge – first as student, then Director of Music, later as parent, and recording producer for their renowned choir.

Nicol Matt is the founder and Artistic Director of the Chamber Choir of Europe, the World Choir for Peace and the International Week for Peace Hanover. Almost one hundred CDs with award-winning recordings of highly demanding vocal, orchestral and instrumental works document his sophistication as an artist, these include recordings with renowned labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Hänssler Classic and Berlin Classics. He regularly receives invitations to perform at established international concert series. As producer Nicol Matt developed and initiated many new projects for the international TV and music industry, to support choirs and a cappella singing worldwide. As lecturer and judge he is regularly invited to international choir competitions, festivals and universities, to teach during workshops and master-classes for conductors and singers around the globe. He also has active partnerships with contemporary composers such as Morten Lauridsen, Sir Karl Jenkins, John Rutter and many more.

I will bring you to the stage Brewer International, a global player founded in 2004, was developed with one purpose in mind: To find, develop, and deliver the most exciting vocal talents to the professional world of music and performance. Our guiding belief: “I will bring you to the stage.” So you wanna be famous? My belonging to the upper echelon of the music business has its advantages. “So you wanna be famous?” I ask my singers. And then I tell them the truth. That truth being that most times it is a very lonely business; it has been known to break even the best of them. I tell them two things about it: I tell them that it is one of the most thrilling rides they will ever have the opportunity to experience. Although thrilling, it can be an unforgiving and cruel business. It takes a disciplined mind and well balanced spirit to survive the power plays. And still they want in. “Don’t dream your life. Live your dream” David Lee Brewer

Stefan Kölsch is a brain scientist and bestselling author recruited by UiB in 2015 as a Toppforsk (excellent research) Professor. His main research fields are neuroscience and experimental psychology. He is known for highly interdisciplinary work, co-authoring publications with neurologists, immunologists, psychiatrists, physicists, philosophers, musicologists, literary scholars, and psycholinguists.  Stefan Kölsch is also a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (Germany), and at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. 

Voice performance coach Kirsten Schötteldreier brings a powerful and playful awareness to vocal health with her holistic method of singing. “Sing with your heart” - increase your heart energy and physical condition for more authentic and joyful singing, opening the window into singing without restrictions and fear. Kirsten Schötteldreier not only is a vocal technique, energy and stage performance coach for young talents, but also works intensively with opera stars from Vienna, Amsterdam, Berlin, Milan and Bonn.

Thomas Hampson, America’s foremost baritone, hails from Spokane, Washington. He has received many honors and awards for his probing artistry and cultural leadership. He enjoys a singular international career as an opera singer, recording artist, and “ambassador of song,” maintaining an active interest in research, education, musical outreach, and technology. Comprising more than 150 albums, his discography includes winners of a Grammy Award, five Edison Awards, and the Grand Prix du Disque. Through the Hampsong Foundation which he founded in 2003 he employs the art of song to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding.