Choirs of the International Study Center
Capella Carolina: The Messiah (G.F. Händel)
Most music lovers think of G. F. Handel's ‘The Messiah’ when they hear the term ‘oratorio’. It epitomises this genre par excellence and is a work of timeless greatness. The whole world knows and appreciates the mighty “Hallelujah” chorus, and this work has been revered for over two and a half centuries.
The concert will be performed by the large choir Capella Carolina on Sunday, 8 February 2026 in Heidelberg. The vocal soloists are Katharina Persicke (soprano), Melanie Lang (alto), Johannes Gaubitz (tenor) and Marcel Brunner (bass). The choir and soloists will be accompanied by the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra.
Camerata Carolina: Matthäuspassion (J.S. Bach)
The St. Matthew Passion by J. S. Bach is not only Bach's most extensive composition in terms of duration and performance apparatus - two choirs, two orchestras - it is also considered the most important of all Passion settings and one of the pinnacles of Western culture. Due to its monumental and universal structure, the St. Matthew Passion has the status of a work of unique grandeur.
On Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 5 pm, the Camerata Carolina chamber choir will present the St. Matthew Passion in St. Peter's Church in Heidelberg with vocal soloists: soprano Marie-Sophie Pollak, alto Nils Wanderer, tenor Fabian Kelly and bass Josua Bernbeck. The orchestral part is played by the Karlsruhe Baroque Orchestra.
For more information on the project click here.
Camerata Carolina on tour in Japan
Wa! Germany, the inscription on the German pavilion, welcomed us on our first day after our arrival in Osaka on 22 September 2025 at the World Expo in this city. The Expo's motto, ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’, can also be applied to our Japan project. The Camerata Carolina has written a travel report about our encounters and experiences with the universities of Mie, Kyoto and Nara, and the concert in Osaka.
For more information on the project and the extensive travel report, click here.
Christmas carols from around the Mediterranean
Once again, the chamber choir “Camerata Carolina,” International Study Center of Heidelberg University, is offering a special Christmas concert: Under the direction of its conductor Prof. Franz Wassermann, it will sing Christmas carols from around the Mediterranean on Sunday, December 14, 2025, at 5 p.m. in Peterskirche Heidelberg (Plöck 70, opposite the university library). The musical journey takes us from Spain to France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Greece, and there is much that is new and fascinating to discover in these sophisticated interpretations. What's more, the audience will have the opportunity to get involved and sing along to a Christmas carol.
For further information, click here.
Our conductor has received the french medal "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres"
The award honours Prof. Franz Wassermann's extraordinary services to cultural cooperation between France and Germany. It is awarded to personalities ‘who have distinguished themselves through their work in the artistic or literary field or through their contribution to the promotion of the arts and literature in France and the world’.
The French Minister for Culture writes: ‘We admire your remarkable career and your ability to pass on your knowledge across borders. We pay tribute to your talent and your ability to take music around the world with this honour, which we are proud to bestow on you.’
During a ceremony in the Senate Hall of the Old University, the French Consul General Gael de Maisonneuve presented Prof Wassermann with the insignia of the order.
In his words of thanks, the honouree emphasised that, in accordance with its motto ‘Semper apertus’, Ruperto Carola appreciates and supports the successful musical work in the Carolina Choirs, which expands knowledge and skills. This fills him with deep gratitude.
Learn more here.
© Universität Heidelberg – Kommunikation und Marketing (Foto: Rothe)
