Gerhard Hellwig (17 July 1925 – 15 January 2011) was a German conductor and

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

director.

Career

Hellwig was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After returning home from captivity, he founded the

Schöneberger Sängerknaben The Schöneberger Sängerknaben were a German boys' choir from Berlin, named after the . The choir performed with about 30 boys at a time. They wore short black trousers, black blazers with emblems, white shirts and white knee socks. The re ...

on 12 November 1947. He was also deputy director of the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

, managing director of the Berliner Festwochen and co-founder of the

Berliner Theatertreffen The Berliner Theatertreffen ("Berlin theatre meeting") is a two-week long theatre festival occurring yearly in May in Berlin, Germany. It is organised by the Berliner Festspiele corporation, funded by the of Germany. During the festival, thos ...

. He recorded numerous records with the Schöneberger Sängerknaben and undertook more than 300 concert tours at home and abroad. He performed at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and at the

German-American Steuben Parade Von Steuben Day is a holiday traditionally held on a weekend in mid-September (von Steuben was born September 17), celebrating the Prussian-born Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who arrived in the United States as a volunteer offering his services ...

in New York City, among other places. Hellwig directed his boys' choir for more than sixty years until 2010, when he put the choir's work on hold due to eye surgery that same year. At Christmas 2010, he fell in his apartment building on Budapest Street and suffered a fractured neck of the femur. On 15 January 2011, he died in Berlin at the age of 85.

Honours

* Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland * 1 October 1997: Order of Merit of Berlin

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellwig, Gerhard German conductors (music) German choral conductors Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin 1925 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Berlin

Career

Honours

References

Further reading

External links