About Us

The Vokalhelden (Vocal Heroes) is a choral program based in Berlin, comprising several children's choirs and a youth choir. Founded in 2013 by the Berliner Philharmoniker on the initiative of Sir Simon Rattle and Simon Halsey, the programme inspires children and young people of all backgrounds to discover the joy of singing.

The Vokalhelden programme aims to enable as many children and young people as possible to sing together, regardless of background, native language, disability, or financial situation. Across four locations, in Hellersdorf, Moabit, Schöneberg and Neukölln, and in the city-wide youth choir, 450 vocal heroes aged 6 to 18 rehearse weekly in thirteen Vokalhelden choirs. Since 2021, the Vokalhelden has operated as an independent non-profit organization, with Johannes David Wolff serving as Artistic Director.

The repertoire spans a wide range of styles, from classical and contemporary works to folk and children's songs from around the world, plus pop and jazz arrangements, which have led to a wide variety of projects and performance formats. Once or twice a year a large Vokalhelden sing-along concert for school classes takes place at the Berlin Philharmonie, where young singers from all Vokalhelden locations take the stage, and welcome more than 2,000 primary school children to join in. In addition to concerts and rehearsals, school workshops and professional development courses for teachers bring singing into schools and classrooms throughout the city.

The Vokalhelden regularly collaborate with leading cultural institutions. In 2024, they performed as a children's choir in the semi-staged production of Arthur Honegger's "Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher" featuring Marion Cotillard and the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Alan Gilbert. The same year, the Vokalhelden Jugendchor (Youth Choir) took part in the world premiere of Ted Hearne's "over and over vorbei nicht vorbei" at the Komische Oper Berlin's Schall & Rausch festival.

In 2023, in recognition of its work fostering young talent, the Vokalhelden received the OPUS KLASSIK award as well as the Pill Mayer Foundation's Award for Intercultural Dialogue. The Vokalhelden also performed on a CD released by Carus Verlag in 2014, featuring European children's songs arranged by Peter Schindler.

Founding Institution

The Berliner Philharmoniker founded the Vokalhelden programme in 2013 with the aim of nurturing self-confidence and a sense of community in children and young people through singing. In performances both large and small, including at the Philharmonie Berlin, the young vocal heroes people share their enthusiasm for singing together.

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s education program has been made possible by Deutsche Bank since its inception in 2002. Together, the two partners aim to make the orchestra's work accessible to a broad audience, and to inspire people of all ages with music and culture.

Board

The Vokalhelden operate as a non-profit association, with board members providing their support on a voluntary basis.

Andreas Richter (Chair)

Katja Frei (Deputy Chair)

Veronika Petzold

Dr. Harald Hasselmann

Udo Marin

Berthold Stecher

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Advisory Board

The Vokalhelden Advisory Board guides and supports the programme's activities and development.

Simon Halsey (co-founder)
Sir Simon Rattle (co-founder)
Dr. Claudia Schmidt Matthiesen
Juliane Banse
Thomas Quasthoff
Jocelyn B. Smith
Sagithjan Surendra