Founded in 1967 on the initiative of the then Philharmonic Chief Conductor Kurt Masur, the Philharmonic Choir can look back on more than 50 successful years, marked by numerous concerts and national and international concert tours. The highlights of the last season certainly include the performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the opening of the new concert hall in the Kulturpalast in April 2017, the anniversary concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Philharmonic Choirs and the participation in the season opening with Gustav Mahler's monumental "Symphony of a Thousand" in the same year.
The ensemble, which currently has about 70 singers, performs with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of the respective principal and guest conductors, cooperates with other choirs and orchestras, and gives guest performances with a cappella programmes in and outside Dresden. One focus of the cooperation with the Philharmonic is the classical-romantic choral symphony.
The repertoire includes choral symphonic works, oratorios and concert performances of operas from all periods, as well as purely vocal works. Radio recordings and CD recordings document the quality, ambition and versatility of the ensemble. In 1989, the choir was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Dresden.
Prof. Gunter Berger has been the choir's artistic director since 2012 and conducts numerous concerts. The choir rehearses with him all year round; in addition, the individual choir members receive vocal training. They do the intensive choir work in their free time. New singers with choral experience and a pre-trained voice are always welcome.
A non-profit booster club supports the choir financially for special projects.