Schwyz Cantonal Symphony Orchestra
The Schwyz Cantonal Symphony Orchestra (SOKS) was founded in 2004 as the Outer Schwyz Symphony Orchestra and has operated under this name since 2014. It comprises up to 70 professional musicians, music students, and dedicated, often young, amateur musicians from the outer part of the Canton of Schwyz, specifically the March-Höfe-Einsiedeln region. Since its founding in 2004 by the Raff Society of Lachen, musical director Urs Bamert, and pianist Patricia Ulrich, it has
established an outstanding reputation as a cultural institution and music educator. With three to four orchestral projects annually, it has secured a prominent place in the cultural life of the Outer Schwyz region, the upper Lake Zurich area, and the entire Canton of Schwyz, and has established itself as one of the leading orchestras in the region through its innovative and engaging programming.
The section leaders are musicians and music teachers from the region, including such renowned musicians as Donat Nussbaumer (concertmaster of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra), Meinrad Küchler, Silvia Solari, and Regula Friedli (violin), Lorenz Küchler (viola
), Ruth Müri and Andrea Stahlberger (cello), André Ott and Susann Brandenberg (double bass), Yoko Jinnai (oboe), Gabriel Schwyter (clarinet), Roland Bamert (bassoon), Marc Jaussi (trumpet), Felix Messmer, Sebastian Kälin, and Sebastian Rauchenstein (horn), as well as Michael Schönbächler and Marlies Bruhin (trombone). They pass on their knowledge and experience to young, talented musicians who have progressed from the regional music school orchestras and are acquiring crucial orchestral experience here.
Supporting local soloists—often
young and at the beginning of their careers
—is a second major focus of SOAS. In 2010, joint projects with regional youth orchestras were conceived for the first time: Jugendmusik Siebnen and the orchestra of the Kantonsschule Ausserschwyz. Another focus of the orchestra is the performance of rarely heard music by the local Schwyz composers Joachim Raff (Lachen) and Othmar Schoeck (Brunnen). The SOAS also regularly realizes concert projects that go beyond the "usual" framework (e.g., crossover projects with yodeling clubs, rock bands, etc.) as well as narrated concerts in collaboration
with SchwyzKulturPlus.
References: Schwyzer Kantonalbank ("Festive Christmas Concerts"), SchwyzKulturPlus ("Narrative Concerts"), Musiksommer am Zürichsee, Joachim-Raff-Gesellschaft, Rotary Club Ufenau, Musikschule Freienbach ("Crescendo Music Week"), Berner Gemischter Chor (Swiss premiere of Raff's "Gericht").
established an outstanding reputation as a cultural institution and music educator. With three to four orchestral projects annually, it has secured a prominent place in the cultural life of the Outer Schwyz region, the upper Lake Zurich area, and the entire Canton of Schwyz, and has established itself as one of the leading orchestras in the region through its innovative and engaging programming.
The section leaders are musicians and music teachers from the region, including such renowned musicians as Donat Nussbaumer (concertmaster of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra), Meinrad Küchler, Silvia Solari, and Regula Friedli (violin), Lorenz Küchler (viola
), Ruth Müri and Andrea Stahlberger (cello), André Ott and Susann Brandenberg (double bass), Yoko Jinnai (oboe), Gabriel Schwyter (clarinet), Roland Bamert (bassoon), Marc Jaussi (trumpet), Felix Messmer, Sebastian Kälin, and Sebastian Rauchenstein (horn), as well as Michael Schönbächler and Marlies Bruhin (trombone). They pass on their knowledge and experience to young, talented musicians who have progressed from the regional music school orchestras and are acquiring crucial orchestral experience here.
Supporting local soloists—often
young and at the beginning of their careers
—is a second major focus of SOAS. In 2010, joint projects with regional youth orchestras were conceived for the first time: Jugendmusik Siebnen and the orchestra of the Kantonsschule Ausserschwyz. Another focus of the orchestra is the performance of rarely heard music by the local Schwyz composers Joachim Raff (Lachen) and Othmar Schoeck (Brunnen). The SOAS also regularly realizes concert projects that go beyond the "usual" framework (e.g., crossover projects with yodeling clubs, rock bands, etc.) as well as narrated concerts in collaboration
with SchwyzKulturPlus.
References: Schwyzer Kantonalbank ("Festive Christmas Concerts"), SchwyzKulturPlus ("Narrative Concerts"), Musiksommer am Zürichsee, Joachim-Raff-Gesellschaft, Rotary Club Ufenau, Musikschule Freienbach ("Crescendo Music Week"), Berner Gemischter Chor (Swiss premiere of Raff's "Gericht").
