Witten/Herdecke University orchestra and choir

An interview.

Why should prospective physicians or managers perform in the choir and orchestra? 
Ingo Ernst Reihl: Studium fundamentale at Witten/Herdecke University is the context where students from all disciplines meet to look beyond the boundaries of their chosen subject. Music and arts in general show us a world which does not obey the laws of physics, mathematics, or market economy exclusively. Making music gives very immediate access to this parallel universe. We want to offer this access to our students during their studies. 

Prior to the Witten/Herdecke University orchestra you founded another one: Junges Orchester NRW. You were only 15 at the time. 
Ingo Ernst Reihl: I was still at school then and at the same time studied composition at the Folkwang School of Music, Dance and Speech. One day on my way there I met Werden grammar school students after their last orchestra rehearsal, dispirited because their director had left. So I took charge, although it was a challenge to direct such a group when you are several years younger. I learnt what music director studies cannot teach you: no authoritative leadership but respect of musicians. I still profit from this early experience. “Das Junge Orchester NRW” has remained an orchestra of non-professional musicians but covers all costs from performance proceeds, unlike the university orchestra.

In addition to the Witten orchestra, you are a guest conductor of the Minsk Chamber Orchestra – is there a difference?
Ingo Ernst Reihl: The audience there loves concertoes. You feel how discriminating they are, how critical, and not too lavish with applause. But there we experiment more with musical programmes and contemporary classical music because the audience accepts and appreciates this. What I also learnt was improvisation other than in the musical sense: an eternal lack of funds is not so different from the situation at UW/H. 

Does the university orchestra make sufficient profits? 
Ingo Ernst Reihl: This is a problem. Tickets are free for students, adults pay ten Euro. I believe it is important to provide free access to music. Youngsters go to the cinema, e.g., because they want to be in the know. Access to classical music and even more so to contemporary classical music works differently. The right approach to avoid losing the young audience for good is a low inhibition threshold! 
Therefore entrance proceeds do not cover costs for sheet music, or temps, and we need donations and sponsors.  

How did music start at the university?
Ingo Ernst Reihl: It started among students, many of whom played in the Bochum university orchestra. Then assistant to the Bochum university music director Hans Jaskulsky, I was contacted by the economics student Julian Horch in 1989; our students wanted an orchestra of their own. This is how I became director of the Witten university orchestra at the age of 19. We founded the choir in 1991. Today we have a total of over 140 avid and quite professional  amateur musicians. 

Isn’t it hard to coordinate so many people? 
Ingo Ernst Reihl: Well, sometimes. But all are clearly music enthusiasts. And UW/H students are not so numerous; it is not easy to find sufficient suitable performers among the current total of 1200 students. But those who are already actively involved keep an eye out for promising newcomers. The cast is never complete. And professional musicians recruited as temps have to be paid. 

Is the quality up to standard?
Ingo Ernst Reihl: From the start the quality was astonishing, even to me. Soon after we began in 1991 we played with Russian celloist Mischa Maisky or violist Tabea Zimmermann, both renowned musicians who play with international top orchestras. An ambitious undertaking for a new orchestra – but it worked. 

And the biggest challenge?
Ingo Ernst Reihl: This was clearly the campus inauguration in 1993. Construction was not complete, workers hammering away everywhere, security personnel for the former Chancellor Helmut Kohl milling around, while I was still struggling with the acoustics of the new building. 

The great hall remains a challenge for musical performances, but today I cope. In 1993 I had no idea where to place the choir and where the platforms for the musicians. But all was well in the end. 

In 2008 we performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Saalbau with student dancers. Another memorable event was the inauguration of Duisburger Akzente 2007: the opera Civil Wars by Philip Glass required from our choristers four-part singing and dancing amidst the audience; they even had to push guests around on moveable platforms following a special  choreography. Definitely a peak performance for an amateur choir.  

Looking back, what makes you particularly proud?
Ingo Ernst Reihl: Many graduates leaving Witten and starting out in a career that may not leave them enough time for music will never pass a concert poster unaffected. Those who go to university with a passion for music often have to give it up during their studies. That we in Witten rather encourage them to go on making music is a stimulating thought. Moreover, Konrad Schily once wrote that the major university concerts have contributed to shaping the university’s identity. 

What do choir and orchestra signify to Witten and the region?
Ingo Ernst Reihl: Music is something like an entrance ticket to Witten/Herdecke University. The worlds of academe and higher education are not easily accessible to the general public. Our Citizens’ University is a notable exception, and music helps to make the connection. The campus is an established location for performances, and outside orchestras show interest as well. The VHS orchestra, the EOS chamber orchestra from Cologne, or Rhein-Ruhr-Philharmonie played here. We also have joint performances with Junges Orchester NRW or the Minsk chamber orchestra which both I still conduct. There is a lively exchange with Ruhr Universität Bochum for performances and accompanying seminars. We hope that we will win TU Dortmund as another partner in 2011.

Contact: Ingo Ernst Reihl