The Choir of the University of Bremen has just issued its first CD. It is entitled “Sing along with friends” and features the best of 35 concerts given by the University Choir, including folk songs from Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Germany and Turkey. Under the direction of the University’s musical director, Susanne Gläß, the choir of the University of Bremen presents the very best pieces from its international repertoire. The CD is a recording of a live concert performed in June 2010.
The choir comprises students, employees of the University of Bremen, and music-loving friends. It has about 100 members in all. The CD is available as of now – in the University for €12 in the main dining hall, the Mensa, from the press office, and in the University Theater following the Tuesday midday concerts. It can also be bought for €15 from the piano dealers Thein, or on the Internet at Starfish Music and Amazon.

The University of Bremen Choir was founded by Susanne Gläß in February 2003 especially for the performance of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”. Following that successful performance the participants decided to continue singing together. The repertoire they have since built up begins with pieces from the 19th century and goes up to the present day. At the same time the choir has included a repertoire of international songs. This seemed the obvious thing to do as the University of Bremen places great emphasis on developing and maintaining international contacts. Especially with the many international students of the University in mind, by 2006 the choir had already built up a repertoire of East European and German folk songs within the context of the project entitled “Sing along with friends”.

In 2008 the choir of the University of Namibia visited the Hanseatic City of Bremen. That occasion gave rise to several public performances with the choir of the University of Bremen and shortly afterwards to a reciprocal visit to Namibia. The intensity of this experience has left a lasting mark on the University choir and led to the addition of a number of African folk songs to their repertoire. The Turkish pieces result from a cooperation project with the classical chamber choir of the Bo?aziçi University in Istanbul.
You can find more information about the new CD at http://www.orchester.uni-bremen.de/medien.html