Herbert Schernus (born 9 March 1927 – 15 March 1994) was a German choral conductor, the second

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of the Kölner Rundfunkchor from 1962 to 1989. Schernus was born in Wießen, Kreis Heydekrug, now Vyžiai, Lithuania. He studied conducting and composition at the

Musikhochschule Hamburg A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

. He was a ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' at the

Stadttheater Bremerhaven The Stadttheater Bremerhaven (Bremerhaven municipal theatre) is a theatre in Bremerhaven, Germany. Founded in 1867, it serves three genres: opera and other musical theatre, spoken plays, and dance. A theatre built on the present site in 1911 was la ...

, then assistant for the

NDR Sinfonieorchester The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra () is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the ''Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany. Earlier the ensemble was call ...

and at the

Hamburgische Staatsoper The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

. In 1962, Schernus moved to the

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

(WDR) in Cologne. He focused on collaboration with contemporary composers whose works he prepared and conducted. Under his direction, numerous world premieres have been performed, which have established and consolidated the reputation of the Kölner Rundfunkchor nationally and internationally. He prepared them for recordings of classical music, especially contemporary music. Schernus died in

Nideggen Nideggen () is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south of Düren. Nideggen is known for its ruined, but partly restored ca ...

References

External links

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Herbert Schernus
on rateyourmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Schernus, Herbert German choral conductors German male conductors (music) 20th-century German conductors (music) 1927 births 1994 deaths 20th-century German male musicians