Women’s Choir of Städtischer Musikverein Düsseldorf

The Düsseldorf Municipal Music Society (Städtischer Musikverein) is celebrating its 200th birthday in the 2017/2018 season. A performance in Düsseldorf of Haydn’s oratorio The Creation in 1818 marked the beginning of the Düsseldorf Music Festival, directed alternatively by Johannes Schornstein (Düsseldorf) and Friedrich August Burgmüller (Wuppertal).

In 1833, Felix Mendelssohn directed the 15th Düsseldorf Music Festival when he was only 24 years old. Later on, the Municipal Music Society appointed Robert Schumann as Festival Director for the years 1850 to 1854. In 1864, the orchestra musicians acquired the status of municipal employees; they chose the name “Düsseldorfer Symphoniker” for themselves in 1960. In the course of two centuries, the 90 women and 40 men who make up the Musikverein choir have continued to uphold the venerable tradition of a lay choir singing on a professional level. For instance, the choir members of the Musikverein stood already on the podium of the Alte Tonhalle for the Düsseldorf premiere of Mahler’s 3rd Symphony in 1928 under the baton of Municipal Music Director Hans Weisbach.

Marieddy Rossetto has been Chief Conductor of the Städtischer Musikverein choir since 2001. Born in São Paulo, she studied piano at Santos Conservatory and Brasilia University before going on to study orchestral and choir conducting at Cologne Musikhochschule. Her artistic career began in Brazil and continued in Wuppertal before she came to Düsseldorf. Marieddy Rossetto is committed to music education through SingPause, an initiative in local music schools.