orchester.ch

orchester.ch
is the umbrella association of Swiss professional orchestras.

We represent the interests of our members in respect of fulfilling their diverse remits as musical institutions and also in respect of their activities as orchestral sponsors and/or concert organizers. We are committed to the preservation of professional orchestras as we know them today, and to their development to ensure a top-class orchestral culture in this country.
We see our overriding task as promoting the contemporary, future-oriented communication of cultural values involving all current media forms, by assisting our members in preserving, developing and disseminating musical art forms. We do this by fostering collaboration and solidarity among our members, supporting coordination with national and international partners, and championing the interdisciplinary networking of professional Swiss orchestras.
Encouraging a broad musical education that is accessible to all social strata is particularly important to us.
We maintain an active dialogue in the Swiss and European cultural landscape and communicate openly with cultural practitioners, cultural mediators, the media and all social classes.
orchester.ch is a member of cultura, *PEARLE, Netzwerk Junge Ohren and the Alliance of Event Organisers Associations.

Organization chart

All the information on the Association’s organization can be found here.

Statutes

The Association’s statutes are available here in German, French and Italian.

Annual reports

An overview of the annual reports is available here in German and French.

National Cultural Dialogue Adopts Joint Recommendations for Sustainable Cultural Policy

The cultural sector contributes to climate impact. A working group of the National Cultural Dialogue has developed four recommendations for sustainable action, which were adopted on 25 November 2024.

Find more information here (in german).

Consultation on the Partial Revision of the Radio and Television Ordinance
The Association of Swiss Professional Orchestras (orchester.ch) and the Swiss Theatre Association (SBV) strongly oppose the popular initiative “200 Franken sind genug!” and do not consider the proposed amendment to the ordinance a suitable counterproposal.

You can find the joint statement by SBV and orchester.ch here.

A New Charter to Promote Swiss Music
At the 2024 meeting of the “Swiss Music” dialogue forum, the SRG and representatives of ten organisations from the Swiss music industry signed the new Swiss Music Charter. This collaboration agreement aims to promote Swiss music and emerging talents while increasing their visibility.

Over the 20 years of this partnership, the airtime dedicated to Swiss music on all SRG radio stations has increased, with some stations now featuring it for more than 50% of their broadcasting time.
Download the press release here.

The Country Needs New Sounds

10 premieres, 10 ensembles, 3 language regions, 1 mission. The music education project “zusammen, insieme, ensemble”, initiated by orchester.ch and its members, invites you to experience discovery, dialogue, and enjoyment in May 2025.

The programme features contemporary music works created through commissioned compositions by composers working in Switzerland. These works highlight the importance of societal exchange while embracing participation, inclusion, and involvement.
Save the dates!

Initiative for Greater Musical Diversity
“The demands on the state have steadily increased,” says Franziskus Theurillat, Director of the Basel Symphony Orchestra, as he discusses fair wages and the potential introduction of a numerus clausus for music education.

Read the full article here (in german).

Membership in the Netzwerk Junge Ohren (NJO)
The umbrella organisation of Swiss professional orchestras, orchester.ch, has joined NJO as a new member. With a broad scope of influence, orchester.ch is dedicated to fostering a contemporary, future-oriented, and accessible musical culture for all segments of the population in Switzerland.

To achieve this shared goal, orchester.ch and NJO will now combine their efforts, strengthening cross-border connections within the professional orchestra landscape across German-speaking countries.
Read the press release here (in german).

Consultation on the Partial Revision of the Radio and Television Ordinance.

The Association of Swiss Professional Orchestras (orchester.ch) and the Union of Swiss Theatres (UST) strongly reject the popular initiative ‘200 francs are enough!’ and do not consider the proposed regulatory amendment as a suitable counterproposal. Here you will find the joint statement of SBV and orchester.ch.

Compass of values

Our compass of values: Template jointly created by the employees of the Union of Swiss Theatres and orchester.ch as an impulse for the individual compass. Download here.

On the War in Ukraine
The Swiss Theatre Association and orchester.ch are deeply shocked by the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Read our Statement here.

1017

musicians

members

1051

performances

The board

The board of orchester.ch consists of three to seven members and is self-constituting. The President is elected by the Association’s assembly.

President
Toni J. Krein

Toni J. Krein is a dramaturge and cultural mediator with extensive experience in the area of concerts and musical theatre. He has been Artistic Administrator of the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, a co-founder of the Frankfurt Feste and leading dramaturge at the Lucerne Theatre. He has worked for the composer Hans Werner Henze, and has been the Artistic Administrator of the Lucerne International Festival of Music (now the Lucerne Festival). He was subsequently chief executive and joint artistic director of European Music Month 2001 in Basel, and from 2002 until the end of 2011 he was Head of Corporate Cultural Sponsorship at Credit Suisse. He has been President of orchester.ch since December 2010. He sits on the boards of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra ZKO and the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, and was Vice President of the Davos Festival Foundation until 2020.

E-Mail: krein@orchester.ch

Vice-President
Franziskus Theurillat
Director of the Sinfonieorchester Basel

Franziskus Theurillat has been director of the Basel Symphony Orchestra since 2000. In addition to his main profession he is engaged as a member of various foundation councils and as an independent lecturer and speaker. He received his musical training at the Basel Academy of Music – the cornet as a main discipline and the piano as a secondary discipline. In parallel with other musical studies in Stuttgart and Dresden, he studied business administration. In his early years as a cornet player he has performed in orchestras such as the Vienna Chamber Philharmonic, the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden and Freiburg, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Pierre Boulez, Heinz Holliger, Yehudi Menuhin, Armin Jordan, Mario Venzago among others. His solo and chamber musician activities have led him to many countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

E-Mail: f.theurillat@sinfonieorchesterbasel.ch

Dieter Kaegi
Artistic Director of the Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn

Attended schools and university in Zurich. Held permanent posts as Assistant Director and Evening Supervisor at the Zurich Opera House, English National Opera and Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Assistant to the Artistic Director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Production Manager at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Artistic Director of Opera Ireland – and since 2013 Artistic Director of TOBS (Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn). Since 2016 he has sat on the committees of the Union of Swiss Theatres (UST) and orchester.ch.

E-Mail: Dieter.Kaegi@TOBS.ch

Lena-Catharina Schneider
Artistic Director / Managing Director Zurich Chamber Orchestra

Born in the heart of Schleswig-Holstein, Lena-Catharina Schneider developed a great passion for music at an early age, especially for the folklore of neighbouring Denmark. She began playing the violin at the age of six and, after classical violin lessons, focused mainly on the folk music of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Shetland and Scotland. While studying German language and literature, art history, film studies and musicology in Kiel and Copenhagen, she founded Haugaard’s International Fiddleschool in North Friesland in 2011 together with folk fiddler Harald Haugaard and ran it until 2014. After graduating, she worked as a concert planner and events instructor for the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival from 2013 to 2018. It was during the festival that she met Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. This encounter then led her to Zurich in 2019, where she has since been managing the affairs of the ZKO in co-leadership with Helene Eller.

Email: lena.schneider@zko.ch

David Jaussi

Administrative Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR)

Born in Geneva in 1972, David Jaussi holds a Swiss Federal Diploma in Finance and Accounting. He joined the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) in 1995 and has been a member of its management team since 1999, overseeing all financial and administrative matters of the orchestra.

In addition to his role at the OSR, David Jaussi is deeply committed to education and professional training. He teaches in the Master of Advanced Studies in Cultural Management programme at the University of Lausanne and provides instruction for the Swiss Federal Diploma in Finance and Accounting. Furthermore, he is the author of several accounting books published by LEP.

Email: finances@osr.ch

Nathalie Rea Otth

Managing Director

Born in Zurich in 1997, Nathalie Otth is a flutist and a certified cultural manager. She completed her performance diplomas in Zurich and London, followed by an Executive Master in Arts Administration at the University of Zurich.

Nathalie Otth gained professional experience at the Musikkollegium Winterthur and the Zurich Opera House, where she most recently managed the Orchestra Academy. Starting in December 2024, she will also work in the Marketing and Digital Communications department of the Zurich Opera House.

Since November 2024, Nathalie Otth has served as Managing Director of the Orchestra Association.

Email: otth@orchester.ch

THE ALLIANCE OF THE ORGANISERS’ ASSOCIATIONS

The Alliance of Event Organisers was founded at the beginning of the pandemic with the purpose of bundling the interests of the entire industry and representing them to the outside world. Particularly in the very heterogeneous tour operator sector, it is central and important for all those involved that representatives from all sectors are heard and that a consolidated opinion is expressed to the authorities and the media.
The alliance of the event organiser sector is legitimised on the one hand by the long-standing work of the associations (depending on the association, for several decades), and on the other hand by the member network, which covers all sectors from trade fair organisers to event agencies, festival and concert organisers, stadium operators, theatres, event technology and production companies, tent and stand builders and catering companies.

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Contact

We look forward to hearing from you through the following contact options.

Email: info@orchester.ch
Phone: +41 31 311 62 65
Post:

Verband Schweizer Berufsorchester
P.O. Box
8021 Zurich

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