Coro Calliope

Coro Calliope, a group of 35 singers with a passion for canto sacro continues the legacy and aims of a choir founded in April 1923, the “Kirchenchor Locarno”. In 1929, they became the “Gemischter Chor Locarno” (Coro Misto Locarno/ Locarno Mixed Choir), continuing their performances.

As of 1984, Paul Giezendanner and Johanna Hausmann take lead of the Mixed Choir, having the aim to improve the quality of the singing and to expand the repertoire, and to include works of contemporary music.

In 2002, a new and dynamic collaboration starts, together with the current artistic director, musician, teacher, and soprano soloist, Esther Haarbeck. The 10-year anniversary of this collaboration, celebrated in 2012, has been the occasion for a new name change, when the mixed choir became: Coro Callìope.

Comprised of approx. 40 voices, the mixed choir meets on a weekly basis in Ascona, and explores a classical repertoire which spans from the year ‘500 to contemporary, and often develops collaborations with musical ensembles.

Esther Haarbeck is, since 2002, the leader and artistic director of Coro Callìope; in these years she has brought the choir on tours and performances throughout Switzerland as well as abroad, as part of collaborations with other choirs and with various orchestras, and of collaborations with other choir leaders and conductors as guests.

She was born and raised in Karlsruhe. She has first earned a diploma in music and canto pedagogy under the guidance of Edith Kerteszh in Köln, and pursued a second diploma in solo and choral canto under the guidance of Albrecht Ostertag in Seeg. She has completed additional courses in music therapy, improvisation, conducting and chamber music with Marianne Müller, Volker Deutsch and Christoph Brunner.

Her interpretations as soprano soloist are featured in numerous recordings and concerts in various European cities, and in the recent years, she has conducted several concerts with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Academy of Sofia.

She pursues courses of study and improvisation also from the scientific standpoint of the analysis of construction and development of sound, considered as part of a theme, melody and chord. Since 2001 she has been a tenured teacher at the Musikschule in Hergiswil.

Her teaching style embraces various styles, epochs and tendencies, spanning from classic to contemporary approaches. As director of Coro Calliope in Locarno, since 2012, she has showed her enthusiasm for new collaborations and has brought the choir to presenting large-scale works for soloists, choir and orchestra.

Since 2012, she has developed a particular interest in the works of two contemporary composers writing music for choir, John Rutter and Ivo Antognini, authors that have created music compositions with a contemporary approach on antique and sacred texts, including poems.

As of 2014, she has also held the role of leader of a choir in Beckenried, and she is developing new projects with different ensembles, in a variety of styles and music genres.

She is also dedicated and passionate about teaching, for both individuals as well as small groups, and for all age groups, both at the Musikschule in Hergiswil, and in the Canton of Ticino. In her canto class, she helps her students develop their technique by blending improvisation and a variety of individual expressions. She is constantly interested in preparing and sharing new projects in collaboration with other choirs and music groups; starting with various models, schools and interpretations, she wishes to help the choir members to treasure the study together with other groups, accentuating and highlighting new colours and the diversity of approaches in music reading and study.