Mit 3 Orgeln und 2 Saxophonen um die Welt am 5/10/2026 in Dannenberg

The organ is the queen of instruments, but until now it has rarely been experienced in harmony due to a lack of instruments. Christian Schmitt, a world-renowned concert organist, travels with an organ specially built for him. The musical direction of the concert is in the hands of guest conductor Sébastien Rouland, who has been the GMD at the Saarländisches Staatstheater since 2018.
The "Adagio for Strings" is world-famous, having been used in many films and regularly played at funerals. However, hardly anyone knows the "Toccata festiva," composed in 1960 for organ, strings, and trumpet by Samuel Barber, which is characterized by lyrical expressiveness and stormy sound gestures, ending with a highly virtuosic pedal cadence of the organist. Francis Poulenc's organ concerto for strings and timpani is a classic of the repertoire that combines baroque forms with late romantic expressiveness and modern sound language. The "Simple Symphony," premiered in 1934 by Benjamin Britten, combines a neobaroque texture with dance elements and features such vivid titles as "Playful Pizzicato" and "Sentimental Saraband." Dvořák's string quintet op. 97 is strongly inspired by impressions of the "New World" and contains elements of American musical traditions. The arrangement for string orchestra was created by WKO cellist Georg Oyen and will be performed in this program for the first time.

Organ sound

An exciting musical journey through different times and styles

Volker Jaekel: Organ, Portative (portable medieval organ)
Gert Anklam: Saxophones, Sheng (Chinese mouth organ)

The Berlin musicians draw a wide arc in their program from early music to jazz, connecting their diverse musical influences. Unusual arrangements of old chorales, original compositions influenced by collaboration with musicians from other cultures, orchestral soundscapes on the organ, and captivating improvisations can be heard. In the concert, they also perform with two small and rare organs. These include the Chinese mouth organ Sheng and the medieval Portative.

In their repertoire, they have arrangements of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Edward Grieg, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Steve Lacy, Astor Piazzolla, and others.

“A dreamlike fusion of organ sound and saxophone, beyond common clichés, a musical journey through the world to oneself.”

Watch a musical sample on youtube

Ahrenshoop

7/8/2026
8:00 PM

Clavierübung - Konzert 3

follows

Verden an der Aller

Daan Manneke (*1939)
„The Sound“ (Psalm 33)

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Prelude in F-sharp minor (BuxWV 146)

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
„Verset for the Feast of the Dedication for Organ“

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Serious Variations op. 54 (arr. Reitze Smits)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Trio on „Alone God in the Height be Honor“ (BWV 664)

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Fantasy and Fugue on the Choral „Ad nos, ad salutarem undam“

Gerben Budding (*1987) is active internationally as a concert organist, conductor, and church musician. At the Sint-Janskerk in Gouda, he plays the historical Moreau organ. He earned his Master's degree in organ with improvisation summa cum laude at the Utrecht Conservatory. He won the 1st prize at the organ competition „Agati-Tronci“ in Pistoia, the 2nd prize at the Schnitger competition in Alkmaar, the Litaize prize at the César Franck competition in Haarlem, and the audience prize at the improvisation competition in Dudelange.

http://www.gerbenbudding.nl

Schwäbisch Gmünd

7/24/2026
6:30 PM

Tickets

from € 17.00

Image: Reservix

Orgelsommer - Meisterkonzert II - Sebastian Küchler-Blessing (Orgel) und Simon Höfele (Trompete)

Simon Höfele & Sebastian Küchler-Blessing – Trumpet & Organ

Two outstanding musicians of their generation present a program full of timbres, virtuosity, and emotion.

The award-winning trumpeter Simon Höfele, celebrated for his "charismatic brilliance and warmth" (Luzerner Nachrichten), is among the most prominent soloists in Europe. He regularly appears with leading orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, or the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and is also a committed chamber musician and promoter of contemporary music.

Alongside him plays Sebastian Küchler-Blessing, a Bach Prize winner of the Leipzig Bach Competition and a teacher at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. As the former youngest cathedral organist in Germany, he combines the highest technical mastery with stylistic versatility; performances have taken him to the Elbphilharmonie, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the KKL Lucerne.

Together, they present an exciting program that bridges tradition and modernity – from Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) and the choral arrangement "Deck thyself, O dear soul" (BWV 654) to romantic and virtuosic works by Max Bruch to a freely improvised fantasy. To conclude, jazz-swinging sounds by George Gershwin will resonate.

An evening that combines baroque depth, romantic fullness of sound, and modern energy into an intense musical experience – a celebration of timbres for trumpet and organ.

Copyright: Manuel Mader-Nachtrodt

Doors open: 17:00 hours

Friedrichshafen

IM DIALOG – Zwischen den Stilen

Saxophon José Manuel Bañuls Marcos
Organ Domkantor Thorsten Göbel Meißen
Spiritual word, prayer, and blessing Frauenkirchenpfarrerin Angelika Behnke

What connects the pipes of the core organ with the saxophone? Clearly – the vibrating column of air! In this concert, two instruments meet that have much in common and actually play together far too rarely. The saxophonist José Manuel Bañuls Marcos and the Meissen cathedral organist Thorsten Göbel create a musical dialogue that opens entirely new sound spaces with works from various epochs and blows through them with new instrumental arrangements.

Admission: 15:30

Dresden

Sommerkonzerte 2026 - 7. Sommerkonzert - Mit 3 Orgeln und 2 Saxophonen um die Welt

On all Saturdays in the months of July and August from 16:45 to 17:45 with subsequent wine serving on the church square.

Uelzen

Orgelschatz Halberstadt

Discover the queen of musical instruments in the Martinikirche and the Cathedral of Halberstadt.
Let yourself be impressed by the more than 300-year-old precious Baroque organ façade on the west side of the Cathedral.

Learn more about the elaborate restoration and the recovery of the historical lighting guided by the organ. Enjoy organ music during the tour.

Follow the extraordinary path of the organ, first played in August 1596, from Gröningen to its current location in the Martinikirche, where it is set to be revived with the sound of the Renaissance and in ancient splendor.

Note: The ascent to the organs is unfortunately not barrier-free.

Halberstadt

8/17/2026
1:15 PM

Tickets

from € 13.00

Image: User · Tivadar Nemesi

Mit 3 Orgeln und 2 Saxophonen um die Welt

An exciting musical journey through different times and styles

Volker Jaekel: organ, portative (portable medieval organ)
Gert Anklam: saxophones, sheng (Chinese mouth organ)

The Berlin musicians span a wide range in their program from early music to jazz and connect their diverse musical influences in an impressive way. You can hear unusual arrangements of old chorales, original compositions shaped by collaborations with musicians from various cultures, orchestral soundscapes on the organ, as well as captivating improvisations.

In the concert, they also play two small and rare organ instruments: the Chinese mouth organ sheng and the medieval portative.

Their repertoire includes arrangements of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Edvard Grieg, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Steve Lacy, Astor Piazzolla, and other composers.

The entertaining and enjoyable concert will be personally moderated by the two Berlin musicians. Lively, unexpected, and surprising – an extraordinary concert evening and an exciting musical journey far from conventional organ clichés!