MID EUROPE

Sinfonisches Blasorchester Wehdel, DE

Since their foundation in 1968 about sixty engaged musicians and female musicians of the "sinfonisches blasorchester wehdel" has developed to the leading wind orchestra in the Elbe Weser space and have set up to the top of amateur wind orchestras from Lower Saxony. The catchment area of the orchestra applies from Bremen via Bremerhaven to Cuxhaven.
The broadly diversified repertoire reaches from original works and treatments for syphonic wind orchestra about soundtracks and musical melodies up to popular wind music and demanding light music. In the extensive promising education about 100 children of different age steps are examined in the musical early education, in recorders and stick play groups, blower's classes, in the single lessons as well as in the youth orchestra. The orchestra takes part regularly in national and international competitions. On account of the continuously good assessment the musicians can confirm their national meaning over and over again and develop further.
In 2007 the orchestra in Bersenbrück was able to do 7. Orchestra competition from Lower Saxony win and booked in 2008 with the German orchestra competition in Wuppertal the 5-th place. The concert calendar of "sinfonischen blasorchester wehdel" contains a huge number of arrangements. Health resort concerts, churches concerts and promenade concerts as well as symphonic projects belong beside own concerts and an annual open Workshop to it also in the whole North German space.

Homepage: www.blasorchester-wehdel.de

Thomas Ratzek - conductor

Conductor Thomas Ratzek received his first piano lessions at the age of 3, before he discovered with 13 his love to the trumpet. He received the first trumpet lessons of his father. Later with Georges Lukaczy and before his study in the conservatoire in Würzburg with Richard Steuart. In 1997 he changed to Karlsruhe to professor Reinhold Friedrich. Since 2000 Thomas Ratzek is a steady member in the brass player's ensemble "Worldbrass".
Beside temporary help in symphony orchestras, like the “Radio Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, SWR Baden-Baden, Saarländischer Rundfunk Saarbrucken, the Württembergisch chamber orchestra Heilbronn and the state theatre of Wiesbaden, appearances as a soloist with the concert for piano, trumpet and string orchestra of Schostakovitsch (Stuttgart philharmonic orchestra) and the German première of the trumpet concert of Alfred Reed (1999) are impressive documents of his artistic career.
He was a solo trumpet player of the " Landesblasorchester Baden Württemberg “ for 9 years and is since 2003 deputy solo trumpet player of the " Bremen philharmonic orchestra “.