Programme

What a celebration for young and old alike! At the family concert in Luitpoldhain, the Nuremberg State Philharmonic Orchestra, under the theme “Summer Festival in the Park,” uses music to show what a celebration sounds like. Claude Debussy captures the excited atmosphere of the morning, Edward Elgar characterizes the various guests, and Edvard Grieg sets the stage for dancing—until, by the end, everyone is tapping their feet in delight. While General Music Director Roland Böer conducts the orchestra, music theater educator Philipp Roosz playfully guides the audience through the program.

Roland Böer has been General Music Director of the Staatstheater Nürnberg and Chief Conductor of the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg since the 2023/24 season. He has made guest appearances at leading international opera houses such as Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House and English National Opera London, as well as Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper Berlin. As a concert conductor, he has led renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie. From 2002 to 2008, he was Kapellmeister at Frankfurt Opera. From 2009, he conducted the "Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano" festival for twelve years and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg until 2019. He has made recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Bamberger Symphoniker, among others. Roland Böer was honoured by the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with the Congregation Award RNCM Fellow and is an honorary citizen of the city of Montepulciano.

The Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg is the largest orchestra in the metropolitan region and the second-largest opera and concert orchestra in Bavaria. Since the 2023/24 season, Roland Böer has led the orchestra as General Music Director. Previous General Music Directors include Marcus Bosch and Joana Mallwitz. Each year, the orchestra presents around 150 opera and ballet performances, as well as its own concert series at the Meistersingerhalle, complemented by special projects such as New Year’s concerts and the “Dreiklang” series. The orchestra’s history dates back to 1377, but it was officially founded in 1922 as the “Nürnberger Philharmoniker.” In 2012, the orchestra was renamed “Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg” and an orchestra academy was established. For its 100th anniversary in 2022, the State Theatre founded the “Junge Staatsphilharmonie” on the initiative of Joana Mallwitz. Concerts and opera performances are regularly broadcast by BR-Klassik and Deutschlandradio Kultur.

Since 2018, Philipp Roosz has been collaborating with dramaturge Wiebke Hetmanek at the Staatstheater Nürnberg to host and develop the Staatsphilharmonie’s concerts for children and young people at the Operhaus. As a music theater educator, he offers outreach programs for the entire community and directs the children’s and youth opera choir, as well as a choir group at UNISONO at the Nürnberger Musikschule. Even while studying music in Stuttgart, Roosz worked as an educator at institutions such as the Internationale Bachakademie and the Junge Oper Stuttgart. Most recently, he hosted family concerts with the kammerchor figure humaine, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, and at the Nationaltheater Mannheim — and for the past five years, he has been welcoming young and old alike to the morning performances at the Klassik Open Air.