The collegium musicum vocale

The collegium musicum vocale et instrumentale of the University of Münster was founded in 1927 and can therefore look back on almost a hundred years of history. It currently consists of the Student Madrigal Choir, the University Choir and Ensemble 22.

The Madrigal Choir was founded in 1947 by the university choir director Prof. Herma Kramm and has been shaping cultural life in Münster and far beyond ever since. Building bridges and bringing people together with music has always been Kramm's concern, who was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her commitment to international understanding by the university, city and state.

Prof. Herma Kramm founded the Münster University Choir in 1981 as the second choir in the CMV, which, in contrast to the Madrigal Choir, was dedicated to large-scale works for choir and orchestra. After fifty years of conducting the choir, Kramm handed over the direction of the choirs to Dr. Ulrich Haspel, who succeeded her in 1998.

Dr. Ulrich Haspel founded Ensemble 22 in 1998 as a smaller vocal ensemble to cultivate a cappella literature from the Middle Ages to contemporary music. In the summer of 2019, Dr. Ulrich Haspel handed over the directorship to Marion Wood, who led the choirs through the challenging pandemic period, especially for musicians.

In the summer of 2023, Volker Hagemann became part of the CMV and took over the direction of the University Choir and Ensemble 22, while Marion Wood retained the direction of the Madrigal Choir. Currently, over 200 singers are active in the three choirs of the CMV and are involved in a wide variety of concerts and programs beyond their studies.

Bringing people together and building bridges with music has always been the idea of the CMV. The upcoming 100th anniversary in 2027 will be the ideal occasion to look back on a hundred years of singing together and countless concerts and encounters that have shaped not only the singers of the CMV, but also cultural life in Münster and beyond. True to the motto: Here's to the next hundred!