Hoyerswerda Music Festival

The Oldest Concert Series in the Lausitz Region

Few concert series in East Germany can look back on such a long history as the Hoyerswerda Music Festival. Founded in the late 1960s in the then rapidly growing mining town of Lausitz, it has survived the Wende (political transition) and has developed into a firm fixture of classical music in the region over the past decades. The 59th edition in 2026 underscores this continuity: 13 main concerts plus three school concerts and a workshop will take place at seven venues in the city — Lausitzhalle, Johanneskirche, Hoyerswerda Castle, and other churches and halls.

Opening with Mahler and Berg

The opening concert on April 12, 2026, in the Lausitzhalle sets the artistic standard for the festival: The Hoyerswerda Symphony Orchestra e.V., under varying direction, will perform Alban Berg's Violin Concerto «Dem Andenken eines Engels» and works by Gustav Mahler. The soloist is the Chinese violinist Xiaoming Wang, who has won numerous international awards. Already in 2025, the opening concert attracted around 450 listeners to the Lausitzhalle — proof of the festival's firm anchoring in the region's cultural calendar.

The Queen's Six in St. John's Church

A special highlight in 2026: On April 15, the British a cappella group «The Queen's Six» will perform in Hoyerswerda's St. John's Church (Johanneskirche). The ensemble consists of six singers from the Royal Chapel of Windsor Castle and combines 16th-century sacred music with modern a cappella arrangements — from Tallis and Byrd to Queen and the Beatles. The acoustics of St. John's Church provide an ideal setting for this fusion of tradition and modernity.

Crossover, Sorbian Music, and New Formats

In recent years, the Music Festival has expanded its classical framework. Crossover projects between classical musicians and jazz or folk musicians, Sorbian music (Hoyerswerda is located in the Sorbian settlement area of Lower Lusatia, in the Bautzen district), improvisation workshops, and school concerts for young talent promotion are integral parts of the program. This openness is deliberate — it reflects the transformation of the mining town into a cultural hub in the Lausitz Lake District.

Hoyerswerda — A City in Transition

During the GDR era, Hoyerswerda was the second-largest city in Saxony and is now home to several cultural institutions. The Bautzen district, where Hoyerswerda is located, has three cities with distinct cultural profiles: Bautzen, Kamenz, and Hoyerswerda. The Lausitzhalle is the most important concert hall in the region and also houses the Hoyerswerda Symphony Orchestra e.V., which artistically supports the Music Festival. The city is currently undergoing structural change due to the lignite mining phase-out — the cultural program plays an important role in identity formation.