The bass-baritone Dominik Wörner studied church music, musicology, harpsichord, organ and singing in Stuttgart, Fribourg and Bern. His main teacher in singing was Jakob Stämpfli. He completed the master class for Lied with Irwin Gage in Zurich with distinction.
Dominik Wörner laid the foundation for his international career by winning 1st prize at the renowned International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2002.
The singer has performed the great oratorio roles in the world's most important concert halls, such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Albert Hall London, Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris, Lincoln Center New York, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Suntory Hall. He has worked with important conductors such as Carl Saint Clair, Christophe Coin, Claus Peter Flor, Thomas Hengelbrock, Pablo Heras-Casado, Philippe Herreweghe, Michael Hofstetter, Manfred Honeck, Tõnu Kaljuste, Sigiswald Kuijken, Peter Neumann, Philippe Pierlot, Helmuth Rilling and Masaaki Suzuki. As a welcome guest, he has performed with famous orchestras and ensembles such as the Bach Collegium Japan, the Concerto Melante, the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam, the Nargen Festival Orchestra Tallinn, the Prague Philharmonic, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Berlin Bach Academy, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Collegium Vocale Gent, La Petite Bande, the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, to name but a few.
In addition, he has a special passion for song. With his rich lied repertoire, Dominik Wörner has given guest performances in Bern, Istanbul, Leipzig, Munich, Salzburg, Toblach, Tokyo and Zurich, among other places. His recordings of Schubert's Winterreise and Schwanengesang - each performed on an original fortepiano from the Biedermeier era (ARS) - were praised in the specialist press as "exemplary and moving". As Artistic Director of the German-Japanese Song Forum Tokyo and co-founder of the "Kirchheimer Liedersommer" biennial, the versatile artist is also actively involved as an organiser in the cultivation of art song in both countries. The first CD recording in the framework of the DJL with Masato Suzuki was made on a historical string grand piano from 1870 with the cycle "Die Schöne Magelone" by Brahms. At the same time, Dominik Wörner's commitment to the music of our time is an important concern, as evidenced by several world premieres of pieces written for him by composers, such as Marco Sofianopoulo's "Canticum Canticorum", which premiered in Trieste Cathedral, Axel Ruoff's "Memento creatoris tui" or the "Lamentatio", as well as Werner Jacob's "Triptychon" at the Sebalder Nachtkonzerte Nuremberg (production for Bayerischer Rundfunk). The bass-baritone made his successful operatic debut in Solothurn in Rousseau's Le devin du village (cpo).
At Murten Classics he succeeded as Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. His performance as Nanni in Haydn's L'infedeltà delusa in Milan and Munich was celebrated, as were his interpretations as Sander in Gretry's Zémire et Azor and as Ulysses in Gouvy's late romantic opera Polyxena.
In the meantime, over 90 CD and DVD productions (including 10 solo CDs) on various labels - including award-winning recordings Echo Klassik, Diapason d'Or de l'Année, Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, BBC Music Magazine Choral Award) as well as several TV and radio broadcasts - document his versatile skills.
Recent highlights have been Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Moscow, Mendelssohn's Paulus in the Herkulessaal Munich, Bach's Coffee Cantata in St. Gallen (video), Mozart's Requiem in Tokyo, Bach's Aeolus Cantata in Budapest, Beetvoven's Missa solemnis in Basel, Handel's Messiah in Kobe, Pergolesi's La serva padrona in Klaipeda (Lithuania), Rossini's Petite messe solennelle in Basel, Monteverdi's Selva morale in Barcelona, concerts and CD recordings of Graupner cantatas in Darmstadt, a Japan tour with Brahms' German Requiem and a US tour (NY Lincoln Center, etc.) with Bach's Christmas Oratorio and the Bach Collegium. and others) with Bach's Christmas Oratorio and the Bach Collegium Japan. In the near future, performances are planned in Berlin (Hamel, 6th Symphony), Brixen (Grieninger), Fulda (Rothe, St. Matthew Passion), Hamburg (Telemann), Rotterdam (Bach, St. Matthew Passion), Tokyo (Bach, Cantatas), Utrecht (Graupner), Dresden (Schütz), Leipzig (final concert Bachfest), Bern (Haydn, Creation) and St. Gallen (Bach - Video).
Dominik Wörner is the founder of the Kirchheimer VokalConsort, the Kirchheimer BachConsort, the Kirchheimer DübenConsort, co-founder of Sette Voci and, in addition to his solo career, an enthusiastic consort singer in various formations.
As artistic director of the "Kirchheimer Konzertwinter", which he initiated, he has successfully organised a much-acclaimed concert series (not only) for early music in his Palatine homeland (www.konzertwinter.de) for over 25 years.