Thomas Hennig was born in Hanover in 1964. He studied at the University of Music and Theatre there. His diploma was followed by a degree in musicology and philosophy in Osnabrück. This was followed by masterclasses in conducting with Prof. Österreicher in Vienna, Prof. Schieri in Munich and Prof. Huegler in Biel/Switzerland, as well as guest conducting the Budweis Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra and conducting the Stadtsingechor in Halle.
From 1992 to 1998, Thomas Hennig was a permanent choir director and conductor at the Brandenburg Theatre and also directed the Brandenburg Chamber Choir from 1994 to 2004. He has received various scholarships and composition commissions at home and abroad, which have taken him to the USA, Brazil and Antalya/Turkey, among other places. In Antalya, he was choir director and conductor at the local state opera for two years.
He has held a teaching position at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2005. In April 2008, he succeeded Gert Sell as artistic director of the Berliner Oratorien-Chor. this was followed by the directorship of the Singakademie Potsdam in 2010 and the Konzertchor Schlachtensee in 2021.
Thomas Hennig has been Chief Conductor of the New Prussian Philharmony orchestra since 2012 and Vice President of the Berlin Choral Association since April 2013.
in 2014, Thomas Hennig conducted the commemorative concert ‘War Requiem‘ by Benjamin Britten in Berlin Cathedral to mark the outbreak of the First World War under the patronage of Federal Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier. Since 2014, he has also been teaching conducting (preparatory studies) at the Paul-Hindemith Music School in Berlin-Neukölln.
In 2015, he accepted a composition commission from the Max Planck Society for the commemorative event ‘100 Years of the Poison Gas War’ in Berlin. In February 2017, he conducted the world premiere of ‘Ode to the Night‘ by Harald Weiss as part of the Chor@Berlin festival organised by the German Choral Association at the Radialsystem.
In autumn 2021, Thomas Hennig received the Gold Badge of Honour from the Berlin State Music Council for his great services to choral life in Berlin. As in-person honours were not possible at this time due to the lockdown, he was honoured on 19 May 2024 in the Berlin Philharmonie immediately before the performance of Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis‘.
Ralf Sochaczewsky, Vice President of the State Music Council, honoured Hennig’s achievements in promoting amateur conducting and improving the working conditions of professional conductors in the amateur sector. His reconstructions of important works of music history and his commitment to choral singing during the pandemic were also emphasised.
The award also focused on Thomas Hennig’s great commitment to civil society, with which he – literally – “always strives for dialogue, always polite in tone and seeking understanding”, trying to make our society “a space worth living in”. On 25 February 2022, for example, he conducted Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy‘ in front of the Brandenburg Gate in the presence of several thousand people in response to the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine, which violated international law.
Find out more about Thomas Hennig at http://www.thomas-hennig.com
