For Arndt Martin Henzelmann, the subject of choral conducting centres on high artistic standards and musical encounters between people:
»In a society that is tending to become more individualised and more divided, choirs are a place where people are brought together in a special way.Choral music and choral singing thrive on encounters – in combination with high artistic standards, this can result in something musically magical. I want to make such inspiring moments possible for students so that they can pass on these experiences in their future careers. A sound artistic toolkit is also essential for this: a very good conducting technique, a differentiated rehearsal methodology and a comprehensive understanding of the musical and stylistic requirements of different choral music. As a companion, door opener and facilitator, I would like to support all students in developing their own musical and conducting personality.«
With the appointment of Arndt Martin Henzelmann – following the appointment of Prof. Florian Helgath in April 2024 to the half professorship for choral conducting with an artistic specialisation (Bachelor and Master) – the reorganisation of the Choral Conducting department at HMTM has been completed. In this reorganisation, the artistic education of students in choral conducting (e.g. for professional concert choirs) was separated from the artistic education of church music students in order to more clearly define the respective profiles and future career paths.
Arndt Martin Henzelmann was born in Berlin, the son of a church musician. He first studied church and school music in Cologne, then choral conducting with Jörg-Peter Weigle at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. He received formative impulses as a scholarship holder of the ‘Tenso Masterclasses for Young Conductors’ and in masterclasses with Grete Pedersen, Stephen Layton, James Wood, Wolfgang Schäfer, Jan Scheerer and Morten Schuldt-Jensen, where he worked with Det Norske Solistkor, the Tenso Europe Chamber Choir and the Trinity College Choir Cambridge, among others.
Arndt Martin Henzelmann is currently the musical director of the Consortium musicum Berlin. He also works as a musical assistant at the Berlin State- and Cathedral Choir and recently founded the Collegium Vocale Iuvenum Köln, a project ensemble of young singers specialising in baroque music. He also regularly conducts independent projects and has been invited to work with the award-winning chamber choir CONSONO on several occasions this year.
Arndt Martin Henzelmann pursued his passion for teaching from 2019 to 2024 as a full-time lecturer in choral conducting at the Institute of Church Music at Berlin University of the Arts and as a lecturer at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.
He is also regularly engaged as a lecturer for conducting courses and music weeks, for example for AMJ, IAM, WGM or state music councils.
One focus of his work as a conductor is in the choral-symphonic field: for many years, he was the director of the Cologne Oratorio Choir and the Rodenkirchen Chamber Choir and Orchestra, with whom he regularly performed in the Cologne Philharmonie.
He has worked with numerous large ensembles and orchestras such as the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra or the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and early music ensembles such as the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle, Concerto Brandenburg, aris et aulis berlin or the lautten compagney BERLIN. At the same time, he has performed with chamber choirs such as the Landesjugendchor Rheinland-Pfalz and conducted the vocal ensemble neuer chor berlin, with whom he has realised various world premieres (Sköld, Forte, Makor, Machuel, Zimmermann) and focused on innovative and interdisciplinary programmes. In 2022 and 2023, he directed the international festival C.H.O.I.R., where he premiered new versions of Anton Bruckner’s Te Deum and Mass in D minor, among others.
As assistant to Prof. Robert Göstl, he worked with the German Youth Chamber Choir.He also assisted Prof Kai-Uwe Jirka at the long-established Sing-Akademie zu Berlin and Prof Jörg-Peter Weigle at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin.
