Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich

The JEWISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA MUNICH was founded in 2005 by conductor Daniel Grossmann. Since then it has developed a unique profile under his artistic direction. It presents itself as a contemporary Jewish voice that is internationally active on a variety of stages. It travels unusual paths, constantly exploring new alliances and formats to bring contemporary Jewish culture to life so that everyone can hear, see and experience it—an internationally relevant approach that the orchestra has proudly and successfully carried into the world for 15 years.

In addition to many tours including those to Israel, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, North America and China, the JCOM has made an increasing number of appearances in Germany as an ambassador of Jewish culture. It is an orchestra for all nations und religions. The musicians come from more than 20 countries, are Jewish and non-Jewish and live mostly in Germany.

At the highest artistic level, the JCOM maintains the rich Jewish musical tradition with a repertoire extending from baroque to contemporary. It performs rarely played works and those by forgotten Jewish composers, it fills forgotten locations of Jewish life with living culture. It regularly awards commissions to young composers and cultivates cooperations with diverse important Munich cultural institutions such as the Bavarian State Opera, the Munich Villa Stuck Museum and the Munich Kammerspiele Theatre.

A diverse education and outreach program rounds out the orchestra’s profile. The most recent project is the e-learning platform Music in the Terezin Concentration Camp, which was realized as part of the dive-in funding program of the German Federal Cultural Foundation. It gives interested parties an insight into the living conditions and cultural activities in concentration camps (www.jcom.de/elearning).

The JEWISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA MUNICH has recordes works by Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn, Paul Ben-Haim, John Cage and others. A recording of works by Mieczysław Weinberg will be released in the fall of 2023. Since 2020 the JCOM also presents professional visual and sound recordings of various works by Jewish composers on its YouTube channel at www.jcomtv.de.