Prof. Martin Berger

Germany

Martin Berger is one of the most popular, versatile and successful German choir conductors and combines artistic practice and academic teaching at a high level. He lives in South Africa and teaches at the prestigious University of Stellenbosch. Martin studied in Saarbrücken und Düsseldorf (Germany) and graduated in church music, music education, musicology, German literature and conducting (for Professor Raimund Wippermann). Master classes and artistic collaborations (eg with Eric Ericson, Anders Eby, Gary Graden) introduced him to the major Scandinavian choir directors who influenced his approach to choral music in a significant way. During his time as Director of Music at Würzburg Cathedral he developed the Cathedral music to one of the foremost institutions of its kind in Germany. As a professor of choral pedagogy at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf taught and further developed modern teaching approaches for choral music. Martin won the international choral competitions in Malta (2007) and Vienna (2008) with the chamber choir he founded at Würzburg Cathedral. Concert tours have taken him to almost all European countries, Australia, China, South Africa and the United States. Martin is an internationally sought after masterclass-leader, guest lecturer and adjudicator. His international commitments include the Vice-Presidency of the World Youth and Childrens Choral Artists’ Association (WYCCAA) and the membership of CEPROM (Commission for the Education of Professional Musicians). In April 2013 he accepted an appointment at prestigious University of Stellenbosch in South Africa where he´s developing a new concept for the choral conducting training. Stellenbosch University is one of the very few South African universities that offer a full academic programme in choral conducting. Apart from the practical training of young conductors, teachers and singers, the division endeavours to pioneer a process of music-making and research of our multi-ethnic society by combining musical excellence, creativity, research output and social awareness. Students are meant to become musical agents of change through aspiring for both artistic excellence and local relevance, through working with people both creatively, sustainably and compassionately. Martin is the artistic leader of Stellenbosch University Chamber Choir.