Susanne Vongries

Vocal and choral music in general, and the integration of professional choral music into today’s musical and concert life, have always been the focus of Susanne Vongries’ particular interest.

After studying systematic musicology, modern German philology, and music education at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, her first professional positions included work at the International Youth Festival in Bayreuth. This was followed by many years of work at the renowned music publisher Breitkopf & Härtel, where she focused on representing contemporary composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Adriana Hölszky, and Hans Zender. In addition, she completed private training in classical singing. 
In 2000, Susanne Vongries was appointed to manage the Bavarian Radio Choir with the goal of creating platforms for the choir’s independent artistic identity. This was in addition to its primary mission of performing the entire repertoire with the two Bavarian Radio orchestras—the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Radio Orchestra—as well as the Musica viva series. The musical spectrum ranges from medieval choral music and collaborations with early music ensembles to choral symphonies, opera, film music, jazz, world music, and the contemporary avant-garde. The artistic director of the BR Choir is Peter Dijkstra, and the chief conductor is Sir Simon Rattle.