The German choral conductor, Karin Freist-Wissing, studied church music from 1983 to 1988 at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, and concluded in 1988 with the A-exam. Her teacher: Professor Gerhard Weinberger (organ), Professor E. Lasheras (piano), Professor A. Wagner (choral directing), Professor K.H. Blömeke (orchestral conducting), Professor R. Zimmermann (improvisation), Professor A. Janzen (singing). During and after her studies she attended master-classes especially in conducting with Helmuth Rilling in Stuttgart, Hans-Michael Beuerle in Freiburg, M. Behrmann in Berlin, Frieder Bernius in Stuttgart and Eric Ericson in Stockholm.
Since 1990 Karin Freist-Wissing is musical director at the Protestant Main Church in Bonn, the Kreuzkirche, of the Kantorei (100 members), the Kammerchor Vox Bona (40 members) and the Sinfonieorchester (40 members). Besides performance of the great of oratorios, cantatas, a-cappella works and orchestral works (symphonies, solo concertos, program music, etc.) of all eras, she plans and implements specific projects of national importance such as the staged performance of J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) as a musical theater in 1997 in collaboration with the Musikhochschule Köln, or the "Kunstkammer 2000" ("Chamber of Art 2000") in co-operation with the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 2000. She works regularly with professional orchestras, particularly with the interpretation of Baroque oratorios, in co-operation with the Johann-Christian-Bach-Akademie Köln, she has made herself a name in Bonn and elsewhere.
Concert tours have taken Karin Freist-Wissing, among other things, to England, Russia, USA, Holland and Sweden. In 1997 she won with her Kammerchor Vox Bona the first prize and special prize at the National Choir competition NRW and in 1998 the 4th Prize at the 5th German Choir Competition in Regensburg. In 2000 she received a scholarship from the German Music Council. From spring 2004 to summer 2005, she had a teaching position in "church music for choir conducting" at the Musikhochschule in Detmold. In addition to her intense artistic work derives Karin Freist-Wissing directs courses for choral and orchestral conducting. |