RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin is one of the world’s leading choirs. Numerous awards attest to its international reputation, including the German Record Critics’ Award, the ECHO Klassik, the Gramophone Award, the Choc de l’Année, the Prix Caecilia, and the honorary “Nachtigall” award from the German Record Critics’ Award.

Comprising 34 professionally trained singers, the ensemble is renowned for its precision and distinctive sound. Its repertoire spans historically informed interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque music, fresh approaches to Classical and Romantic works, and regular world premieres.

Since the 2017-18 season, Justin Doyle has served as the choir’s Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. In November 2024, he led the ensemble on its second tour of Japan, which also included a stop in South Korea.

Doyle’s recordings with the RIAS Kammerchor have been met with widespread acclaim from both audiences and critics. These include Handel’s Messiah, the Coronation Anthems, Dixit Dominus, Te Deum, and Bach’s Magnificat in E-flat major. Stella Maris, the CD most recently released, is featuring works by Tomás Luis de Victoria and Francisco Guerrero. The first of two recordings dedicated to the music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Fanny Hensel is set for release in June 2025.

With up to 50 concerts per season, the RIAS Kammerchor is among Germany’s most important touring choirs. In its home city, the ensemble presents six subscription concerts, including the renowned New Year’s Concert. Its Berlin programming also features Forum concerts at unique venues in collaboration with the Forum der Freunde und Förderer (Circle of Friends and Sponsors), as well as joint performances with sister ensembles such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

In partnership with the German Music Council, the RIAS Kammerchor organizes the final concert of the German Prize for Choral Conducting every two years, marking the culmination of a multi-year mentorship program. Through the RIAS Kammerchor Studio, four academy members join the choir each season. The ensemble is deeply committed to fostering young professional talent as well as music education, engaging in initiatives such as mentorships with Berlin school choirs, musical salons, the Sounding Pictures series at the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, and audience workshops led by Justin Doyle.

Since its founding in 1948 as the radio choir of the RIAS, Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor (Radio in the American Sector), the choir has been shaped by distinguished artistic figures, including Günther Arndt, Uwe Gronostay, Marcus Creed, Daniel Reuss, and Hans-Christoph Rademann. It collaborates regularly with esteemed ensembles such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, as well as with renowned conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, René Jacobs, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Iván Fischer, Rinaldo Alessandrini, and Krista Audere.