Founded in 1967 on the initiative of the then Philharmonic Chief Conductor Kurt Masur, the Philharmonic Choir can look back on far more than 50 successful years, marked by numerous concerts and national and international concert tours. The highlights of the last seasons include the performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the opening of the new concert hall in the Kulturpalast in April 2017, the anniversary concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Philharmonic Choirs and the participation in the season opening with Gustav Mahler's monumental "Symphony of a Thousand" in the same year.
The ensemble, which currently has about 70 singers, performs with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of the respective principal and guest conductors, cooperates with other choirs and orchestras, and gives guest performances with a cappella programmes in and outside Dresden. One focus of the cooperation with the Philharmonic is the classical-romantic choral symphony.
The repertoire includes choral symphonic works, oratorios and concert performances of operas from all periods, as well as purely vocal works. Radio recordings and CD recordings document the quality, ambition and versatility of the ensemble. In 1989, the choir was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Dresden.
From 2012 to 2022, Prof. Gunter Berger was the choir's artistic director and conducted numerous concerts. Iris Geißler took over as choir director in October 2022. The choir rehearses weekly, and the individual choir members also receive vocal training. They carry out the intensive choral work in their free time. New singers with choral experience and a pre-trained voice are always welcome.
A non-profit friends' association supports the choir in financing special projects.