Congratulations to Benjamin Goodson, Named Chief Conductor of the SWR Vokalensemble

Our warmest congratulations to our good friend, the outstanding young conductor Benjamin Goodson! The German choir SWR Vokalensemble has officially announced that Benjamin Goodson will become its next Chief Conductor, taking up the post in September 2028.

We are immensely proud to have worked alongside him. Last season, we invited Benjamin Goodson to bring us a superb program of English choral music; with his precise and energetic style, he conducted classic works by composers such as William Byrd and George Frideric Handel, creating with TCS an enchanting English choral sound that still lingers in our memory.

The SWR Vokalensemble is one of the world’s finest choirs, renowned for its flawless sound, its experimental spirit and its precise performances of new contemporary music. This May, in our concert “Lost to the World” with conductor Heng-Yi Pao, we performed works by Clytus Gottwald, the master of contemporary choral arrangement. Gottwald has deep ties with the SWR Vokalensemble, which has recorded his choral arrangements of Gustav Mahler, Johannes Brahms and others—recordings regarded as authoritative interpretations.

Benjamin Goodson has already collaborated with the SWR Vokalensemble many times, striking many artistic sparks, and the singers describe him as their “absolute dream candidate” (absolute Wunschkandidat). SWR Director of Culture Anke Mai praised him: “Besides his extraordinary precision and his great passion for choral music, he is also committed to developing innovative ways of making choral music easier to feel and experience.”

Congratulations once again to Benjamin Goodson. TCS is deeply honored to have worked with a conductor who is about to lead a new era of European choral music, and we sincerely look forward to joining forces again in the near future.