Robert Pohlers & Friedrich Praetorius
Biography Robert Pohlers & Friedrich Praetorius
Robert Pohlers
was born in 1994 in Leipzig. As a member of the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Boy Choir) from 2004 to 2013, he enjoyed a comprehensive musical education. Early on he appeared as a soloist and was recognized several times for his accomplishments with the choir. Today, as a result of this training, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach forms the core of his soloist work. Pohlers successfully completed his studies in voice under Roland Schubert at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig. Since 2013, he has been a member of the renowned vocal ensemble “amarcord”, with which he has received various internationally prestigious awards, such as the 2019 Opus Klassik and the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award.
During the course of his concert activities, which have taken him to over 30 countries, Robert has worked with notable ensembles and conductors including the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, the Münchener Kammerorchester, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Georg Christoph Biller, Wolfgang Katschner, the Thomaskantor Gotthold Schwarz, HK Gruber and Steven Sloane at major venues such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Konzerthaus Berlin, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Prinzregententheater in Munich and the Berliner Philharmonie. In addition to his appearances on the operatic stage, the tenor continues to expand his broad song repertoire, for which he has been strongly influenced by collaborating with those who have triumphed in this genre such as Peter Schreier, Eric Schneider and Alexander Schmalcz.
His first opera engagements, predominantly for compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, led him to theaters in Leipzig, Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Gotha, among others. Various CD recordings and radio, television and DVD productions document his musical activities not only as a soloist, but also as a member of an ensemble.
Friedrich Praetorius
was born in 1996 in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and began his musical training as a member of the Leipzig Thomanerchor. As 1st prefect of the choir, he received conducting lessons from the former Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller as well as lessons in figured bass and score reading from Maria Bräutigam.
Since October 2015, he has been studying orchestral conducting with Nicolás Pasquet, répétiteur for opera with Ulrich Vogel and art song interpretation with Thomas Steinhöfel at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar. Past musical collaborations include working with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Guiseppe Verdi. In addition, he has gained valuable experience working with singers as the musical assistant for Tannhäuser at the Oper Leipzig, for Tosca at the Meininger Theater as well as for the production of Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch at the Nationaltheater Weimar, of which he also conducted performances. Friedrich Praetorius is a founding member and the musical director of the Junge Mitteldeutsche Kammeroper e.V. society, with which he conducted Il tabarro by Giacomo Puccini, Il barbiere di Siviglia by Giovanni Paisiello as well as Bastien und Bastienne and Der Schauspieldirektor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
