Justus Barleben

Justus Barleben has served as Assistant to the Chief Conductor of the Rundfunkchor Berlin since 2020. In this role, he has prepared the choir for numerous performances under distinguished conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Jurowski, Robin Ticciati, Semyon Bychkov, and Kirill Petrenko. He has also conducted the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in the popular Sing-Along Concert at the Berlin Philharmonie and took musical direction of the transdisciplinary project »Time Travellers«. In the current season, Justus Barleben leads the Rundfunkchor Berlin in its traditional Christmas Concert at Berlin Cathedral and is responsible, among other projects, for preparing Gabriela Ortiz’s »Revolución diamantina« for Gustavo Dudamel and the Berliner Philharmoniker. He also returns as guest for concerts and choral preparations with both the NDR Vokalensemble and the MDR Rundfunkchor.

Based in Hanover, the choral conductor and ensemble singer received his musical training at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and at the Detmold University of Music. His artistic development has been shaped by Anne Kohler, Florian Ludwig, Justin Doyle, Walter Nußbaum and Jos van Veldhoven. A former scholarship holder of the Conductors’ Forum of the German Music Council, he was awarded Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the 9th International Competition for Young Conductors in Paris in 2019.

As a founding member of the prize-winning vocal ensemble Voktett Hannover, Justus Barleben performs regularly at major festivals such as the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Bachfest Leipzig, chor.com and the Rheingau Musik Festival. The ensemble also collaborates on occasion with renowned groups such as the Baroque ensemble L’Arpeggiata and the vocal ensemble Voces8. In 2024, Voktett Hannover received the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik for its recording »Gregor Joseph Werner: Masses & Motets«.

Justus Barleben is a regular guest conductor with various German radio choirs, covering a wide repertoire from early music to contemporary works. Dedicated to supporting young talent, he runs the Rundfunkchor Berlin’s education programmes Academy and Schola and has conducted numerous concerts for children and families, including »Discover Music!« with the NDR Vokalensemble and »Liederbörse« (»Song Exchange«) with the Rundfunkchor Berlin.