Simon Halsey, Professor and Director of Choral Studies at Birmingham, was awarded the Chorverband Berlin's Geschwister Mendelssohn Medal on 15 June 2016 for his outstanding contribution to choral life in Berlin.
Simon Halsey CBE
Simon Halsey, Professor and Director of Choral Studies at Birmingham, was awarded the Chorverband Berlin’s Geschwister Mendelssohn Medal on 15 June 2016 for his outstanding contribution to choral life in Berlin.
He was commended for having taken choral music in the city to new heights during his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Berlin Rundfunkchor 2001-2015, having led many ground-breaking and influential projects - notably the Singalong days and many interdisciplinary concert projects.
The award was presented by the President of the Berlin Chorverband, Petra Merkel, and the citation was read by the Berlin Secretary of Culture Tim Renner. Halsey remains Honorary Conductor of the Berlin Rundfunkchor, and continues to head up the Berliner Philharmoniker's choral education project Vokalhelden. This honour is added to the Bundesverdienstkreuz which he received in 2010; here in the UK last year he was awarded a CBE and Her Majesty’s Medal for Music.
Earlier this month, Halsey was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama for his outstanding achievement and his significant contribution to the college.
