Events0 results
About
When the Society for the Promotion of Music was founded in 1829, Amsterdam was one of the first departments to set up its own choir. In all those years, the Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam has grown into a true musical institute that upholds the choral tradition in the capital. The choir, which consists of well-trained amateur singers, was in its long history under great conductors such as Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter, Eduard van Beinum, Anton Kersjes, Hartmut Haenchen, Ken-ichiro Kobayashi, Jean Fournet, Yehudi Menuhin, Bernard Haitink, Jan Willem de Vriend and Marc Albrecht. Due to the high quality, the choir is regularly asked to cooperate with productions of the Dutch symphony orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra.
On Good Friday, TKA is responsible for the performance of Bach's Matthäus Passion in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Willem Mengelberg started this annual performance in 1899. After him the choir continued this tradition led by Eduard van Beinum, Eugen Jochum, Anton Kersjes, Jan Eelkema, Winfried Maczewski and, since 2003, Boudewijn Jansen. Since 2008, the annual performance on Palm Sunday in De Philharmonie in Haarlem has been added to this tradition.
TKA is an ambitious concert choir that alternates large choral works with intimate programs that reflect the versatility of the choir. TKA's repertoire extends from Sweelinck to today. In addition to the compositions from the 19th century, the major choral works from the 20th and 21st centuries have special attention. TKA mainly focuses on works that, due to the level of difficulty, are rarely performed by amateur choirs. With this variety of concerts, TKA reaches a wide audience in Amsterdam and the surrounding area. The choir brings its own production at least once a season.
