The weekend 1-3 April male chorus Orphei Drängar, led by the Swedish Radio Choir’s conductor Peter Dijkstra, will perform at three concerts at the concert halls in Västerås  and Stockholms Konserthus  and at the University Hall in Uppsala.

At the tour, having the theme “from darkness to light”, some of the greatest works for male chorus a cappella will be on offer including ”Quatre petites prières” by F Poulenc and ”Gryning vid havet” by Hugo Alfvén. In 2011 it is 100 years since the death of Swedish national poet Gustaf Frödings. This is highlighted by a couple of poems by Fröding with music by Selim Palmgren and David Wikander. At the concert Kurt Weill’s ”Das Berliner Requiem” will also be performed, a touching piece for male chorus, tenor and baryton solo and a small orchestra of brass, timpani, guitar, banjo and organ. There will also be some traditional Swedish spring songs.

– The arrival of Spring if of great importance for most Swedes and after a long, dark winter you are longing for the first signs of the new season. My starting point for these Spring concerts was to shape a program that follows the changes of the seasons: from darkness to light. The first part is firmly set in German late romantic repertoir and can be seen as a dark and serious beginning. After the break we look at life from the bright side, says Peter Dijkstra ahead of the tour.

Peter Dijkstra was born in 1978 in the Netherlands and is musical director of Bayerische Rundfunkchor and the new chief conductor of Radiokören which makes him one of the world’s most prominent young conductors. In 2002 he was awarded with Kersjes van de Goenekan price for young orchestra conductors and in 2003 he was the first to win the Eric Ericson Award in Stockholm, a conductors competition that became the starting point of his international career.

The tour starts on 1 April at 7pm in Västerås Concert Hall followed by a performance in Stockholm Concert Hall on 2 April at 3pm. The final concert is held in Uppsala University Hall on 3 April at 2pm.