Allgemein – Page 2 – Saarländisches Zupforchester

Matinée at Vauban Health Centre

10. July 201829. October 2017 by Nicole Forse

On August 19, with about 200 guests, Vauban Health Centre at Saarlouis celebrated their 10th anniversary. Dr Carsten Schürfeld had invited the SZO to accompany by musical offerings the festivities on the roof terrace of the health centre.

It´s done – Radio recordings 2017

22. December 201710. July 2017 by Nicole Forse

On June 20th at the Saarland Radio the Saarland Plucked Strings Orchestra (SZO) recorded two more works of their present programme. They recorded the “Concert for saxophone and plucked strings orchestra” (soloist: Michael Bick), composed by Helmut Fackler especially for the SZO, and “The City Awakens” by Emiel Stöpler.

Rehersal weekend in the state music academy

10. July 201718. February 2017 by sh

From February 10 –12 intensive rehearsals took place in the state music academy Ottweiler, to which Helmut Fackler, former conductor of the SZO, was invited, too.

Happy new year

31. January 201721. December 2016 by Nicole Forse

All the best for 2017 from the SZO!

In 2024 the Saarland mandolin orchestra (SZO) celebrated its 70th anniversary. The SZO is one of the leading German orchestras of its kind and enjoys great reputation for its ambitious artistic work. It can look back on many years of continuous concert activity and participation in European music festivals. Concert tours led the orchestra through Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Luxemburg, Croatia, Japan and the USA. 10 CDs, radio and TV recordings of more than 500 works are proof of the great variety and high level of its artistic activities.

As federal orchestra of the association of mandolin society and society for folk music (BZVS) the SZO is closely linked to the BZVS‘s tradition of workshops and the tuition of young musicians. It consists of highly motivated lay musicians from local Saarland societies, many of whom are former winners of the Jugend Musiziert (young people playing music) competition. It performs also as chamber orchestra, which is documented on the latest CD “Facetten“ for the first time.

In its long history the SZO played under renowned conductors e.g. Siegfried Behrend (Berlin), Marcel Wengler (Luxemburg) and Helmut Fackler. From 1988 to 2021, guitarist Reiner Stutz held the artistic direction of the orchestra. In 2022 Benjamin Schäfer takes over the conductor’s desk.