top of page

Review of the opening and outlook for the autumn programme

The Kulturkirche Paulus was officially opened on the weekend of 24/25 September 2022. With six concerts and an official ceremony, the Pauluskirche has arrived in the present as Basel's new cultural centre.


Photos courtesy of Genevieve Mathis


The top-class programme kicked off with the ‘Swiss Youth Choir’, a national figurehead of the Swiss choral scene and beyond. Under the direction of Nicolas Fink and his assistants Chiara Selva and Deborah Züger, the choir presented a cross-section of its current repertoire with Frank Martin's ‘Messe pour double chœur a cappella’ as a challenging and inspiring highlight.

The SJC once again provided the backdrop for the official ceremony that followed. The official greetings from the authorities, which were delivered by Eva Herzog (Councillor of States BS), Kaspar Sutter (Councillor of the Government BS) and Jo Vergeat (President of the Parliament BS), thus provided an atmospheric counterpoint.

The second opening concert of the award-winning ‘Männerstimmen Basel’ was characterised by a christening and a farewell: the new CD ‘Diluvium’ was presented to the public at the same time as the long-standing conductor Oliver Rudin conducted his last concert.

Other concerts on the second opening day included ‘ChorBasel’, which encouraged the full church ranks to sing along enthusiastically, the duo René Perler (baritone) and Romano Giefer (organ) and the ‘tsc choir’ as part of ‘Kirche Kreativ’, further highlights of an all-round successful start to the first Kulturkirche season.


In October, St Paul's Church continues with further premières: for the first time, the church interior can be admired as an exhibition space. The Ukrainian artist Daria Alyoshkina is exhibiting two large ‘Vytynanki’ (traditional silhouette pictures) here. They can be viewed until 31 October.


Every second Friday until the end of the year, St Paul's Church will be transformed into a dance floor. At Ecstatic Roots Dance, those interested can enjoy free expressive dance. The classical concert programme also has some highlights to offer, such as the opening concert of the Martinů Festival on 23 October or the guest performance by the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra as part of the Big Basel Festival on 30 October.


Following the successful opening concerts, the Kulturkirche Paulus association will be organising further concerts of its own by the end of the year: Next up is an open singing event with the ‘Singstimmen Baselland’ under the direction of our board member Jürg Siegrist. All singing enthusiasts are cordially invited to sing along on 24 October at 19:30 (admission free with a collection).



 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page