Günter Jena

Günter Jena
Organ in St. Michaelis, Hamburg, where Jena was responsible for church music from 1974
Born	1933 (age 90–91) Leipzig
Education	Thomasschule Musikhochschule Leipzig University of Berlin Musikhochschule München
Occupations	Conductor Chorale conductor Musicologist Kirchenmusikdirektor
Organizations	St. Johannis, Würzburg St. Michaelis
Awards	Johannes Brahms Medal
Website	www.guenter-jena.de

Günter Jena (born 1933) is a German choral conductor, musicologist and director of church music, based at St. Michaelis in Hamburg. He is a founder of the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg.

Career

Born in Leipzig, Jena attended the Thomasschule there, and then studied musicology. He studied psychology and philosophy in Berlin, and conducting and organ at the Musikhochschule München with Karl Richter, becoming his assistent.

Jena worked as the church musician at St. Johannis in Würzburg. In 1969 he founded the festival Würzburger Bachtage. From 1974 he was the church musician at Hamburg's Hauptkirche St. Michaelis, where he regularly conducted performances of works by Bach, music from the classical period and the romantic period. He founded the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg, and was appointed director of church music (Kirchenmusikdirektor) for the region. Jena prepared the choir for performances by the choreographer John Neumeier at the Hamburgische Staatsoper, including Bach's St Matthew Passion and Mozart's Requiem. He prepared and conducted the NDR Chor for a recording of the complete a cappella works by Johannes Brahms in 1996.

Jena published books about the musicologal and theological background of the St Matthew Passion and Bach's Christmas Oratorio. He is a member of the Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg.

Awards

Jena was awarded the Würzburg Cultural Prize. The Hamburg Senate appointed him an honorary professor in 1986 and awarded him the music prize Johannes Brahms Medal in 1987. He received the Plakette of 1988 of the Akademie der Künste in Hamburg.

Publications

• Günter Jena: "Das gehet meiner Seele nah". Die Matthäuspassion von Johann Sebastian Bach. Piper Verlag 1993, Herder Verlag, Freiburg 1999
• Günter Jena: "Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht". Das Weihnachtsoratorium von Johann Sebastian Bach. 1997
• Günter Jena: Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen, with 2 CDs. 2000

Selected recordings

• Johannes Brahms, Chorwerke. NDR Chor. 1996.
• Johann Sebastian Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium. Choir and orchestra of St. Michaelis, Lynne Dawson, Marjana Lipovšek, Peter Schreier, Andreas Schmidt. 1997

External links

• Literature by and about Günter Jena in the German National Library catalogue
• Official website