September 2026 Project – Beethoven!

The Süddeutsches Sinfonieorchester (SDO) is planning its next major symphonic project for September 2026! The concerts on 26 September 2026 at the Stadthalle Aalen and on 27 September 2026 at the Liederhalle Stuttgart are devoted entirely to the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

This time the programme features Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73, with our soloist Lisi Namchevadze, followed after the interval by the revolutionary Symphony No. 3, the “Eroica”, by the Bonn-born genius. To prepare properly for these concerts, a weekend of rehearsals has been scheduled, so that everything is in the best possible shape for the concerts the following weekend. Alongside the applicants, professional musicians from major, renowned orchestras will also play at the desks.

For this, the SDO will rehearse in Stuttgart all day on the repertoire, from Friday 18 September 2026, starting at 6 pm, until Sunday 20 September 2026, finishing at 7 pm. Meals during the breaks are provided. Overnight accommodation, where needed, can be arranged individually between the musician and the project management.

The orchestra will also meet for two further rehearsals on the concert weekend, on Friday 25 September 2026 and on Saturday 26 September 2026, before the first concert that evening. The SDO’s concert project ends after the concert in Stuttgart on 27 September 2026.

We do not see ourselves as an orchestra exclusively for musicians from southern Germany, nor do we limit ourselves to one age group. Applications are open to all enthusiastic musicians of every age who would like to work intensively on the music together with us.

The application period for the project ends on 31 July 2026. All you need to do to apply is fill in the application form linked above. Because, as an orchestra, it matters to us for the sake of the music that everyone interested has the chance to apply, there will be no costs or participation fees for participants in this project; meals and sleeping arrangements are also taken care of. Only your own travel to and from the rehearsal period, and your journey home after the last concert, must be paid for by yourself.

To meet our standards of quality and the complexity of the chosen works, applicants for the orchestra need to reach a certain level. For this reason we have decided to make a short video clip part of the application. The recording need only last a few minutes and is simply meant to demonstrate the applicant’s abilities clearly. There is no prescribed piece or any other requirement. In this way we want to avoid the effort of a formal audition with travel and so on, and offer everyone the convenient option of sending in a video, according to their own circumstances.

After the application, and once the video has been accepted, we will send the applicant a registration form for the working phase. The aim of this project phase is to combine music-making of high quality with a shared joy in music, resulting in a detailed, focused rehearsal period with great concerts to conclude it. Besides an intense and memorable time with other musicians, as an orchestra member you also get to know two great works of the repertoire better, almost as a side effect. The concert halls, too, with their history, modernity and special acoustics, make performing with the SDO a unique experience.

The SDO looks forward to receiving many applications!