Matthias Beckert (1976) is one of the leading choir and orchestra conductors of his generation. He studied orchestral conducting under Prof. Yuuko Amanuma, church music under Prof. Gerhard Weinberger, school music and choral conducting under Prof. Jörg Straube at the Würzburg University of Music where he graduated with high honors (“Meisterklasse-Diplom”). He completed his studies with international master classes with Gustaf Sjökvist, Volker Hempfling, Anders Eby, and various others. In 1998 Beckert became the musical director and conduct or of the Monteverdichor Würzburg. In 2001 he joined the faculty of the University of Music in Würzburg, where he teaches choral conducting. In2002 he founded the Monteverdi Ensemble Würzburg. That same year he became the conductor of the renowned Vokalensemble Cantabile Regensburg. Matthias Beckert conducted numerous premieres and particularly seeks to bring contemporary choral pieces as well as historically informed performances to a wide audience. He presented numerous premieres in close collaboration with renowned composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfram Buchenberg, Zsolt Gárdonyi and Heinz Werner Zimmermann. In appreciation of his achievements Zimmermann dedicated his choral work “I got a robe” to Matthias Beckert while Gárdonyi presented him with his composition “One day with the Lord is like a thousand years”. At the 2006 Würzburg Mozart Festival Beckert conducted the anniversary concert. In recognition of his long-standing exacting performance standards and his outstanding achievements as conductor ofthe Monteverdichor he was awarded the culture medal by the city of Würzburg in 2007. He was also honored by the Bavarian Radio Choir at the choral conducting forum in Munich in 2007. In the same year he was appointed conductor of the Suhl Singing Academy and the Suhl Boys Choir. In 2008 he was invited to perform at the International Bach Week Stuttgart with the Gächinger Kantorei. Under his conductorship both the Monteverdichor Würzburg and the Vokalensemble Cantabile Regensburg excelled at the Bavarian Choir Competition 2009 and were sent to represent the state of Bavaria at the German Choir Competition 2010 in Dortmund. At this event the Monteverdi Choir was distinguished as “excellent” and awarded the prestigious second prize, thus making it one of the best choirs in all of Germany. Beckert was also awarded a stipend for choir directors by the German Music Council. Matthias Beckert has successfully worked with renowned orchestras such as the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hof Symphonic Orchestra, the Thüringen Philharmonic Orchestra Gotha, the Thüringen Philharmonic Orchestra Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bach Collegium Stuttgart, the Main Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concert Royal Cologne. He has appeared as a conductor in performances worldwide, including Italy, Poland, Spain, and Japan. Numerous radio, TV, and CD recordings document his work.
