RIAS Kammerchor Berlin
The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, founded 78 years ago, is one of the world's leading professional choirs. Numerous awards document 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.
34 professionally trained singers make up the ensemble, which is renowned for its precise sound. The repertoire ranges from historically informed performances of Renaissance and Baroque music to new interpretations of Classical and Romantic works and regular world premieres.
Justin Doyle has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the choir since the 2017-18 season. The recordings made to date under Doyle’s baton, including works by Handel, Bach, Britten and de Victoria, have been enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike, most recently the recording of Haydn’s "The Seven Last Words", released in March 2026 with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. A recording featuring works by Benjamin Britten is due for release in October 2026.
With approximately 50 concerts a year on national and international stages, the RIAS Kammerchor is a major cultural ambassador for the country. In its home city of Berlin, the choir presents ten concerts each season, including the renowned New Year's Day concert at the Philharmonie. The Forum Concerts, in collaboration with the ensemble’s Friends Association, explore new concert forms and concepts in unusual locations all over Berlin. Moreover, the choir performs in collaboration with fellow ROC-ensembles, such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
In collaboration with the German Music Council, the RIAS Kammerchor awards the German Prize for Choral Conducting every two years; the competition marks the culmination of a multi-year programme to promote young talent. As part of the RIAS Kammerchor Studio, four young singers are invited to work closely with the choir each season. Recurring music education projects include musical salons, the audio tour "Sounding Images" at Gemäldegalerie Berlin, mentorship programmes for Berlin school choirs, collaborations with choirs from the Berlin University of the Arts and Berlin primary schools, and public workshops led by Justin Doyle.
Distinguished conductors as Günther Arndt, Uwe Gronostay, Marcus Creed, Daniel Reuss and Hans-Christoph Rademann have shaped the choir, which was founded in 1948 as part of the Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor(Radio in the American sector). An enduring and fruitful collaboration binds the choir to the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Ensemble Resonanz Hamburg, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Freiburger Barockorchester, as well as conductors such as René Jacobs, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Joana Mallwitz, Pablo Heras-Casado and Krista Audere.