“A Fantastic, Magical Atmosphere”

Standing ovation for the Orchestra of the State of Lower Saxony at St. John’s Church in Göttingen. Around 35 musicians, under the direction of Thomas Boger, delivered a highly professional performance and created an impressive, musically varied evening, earning a standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience. 

(Göttinger Tageblatt) 

“A Rich and Nuanced Listening Experience”

And this is what defines Thomas Boger as a conductor: his calm presence, his consideration for others, his recognition of the achievements of his musicians, and his ability to step into the background even while physically standing at the centre of the performance. This concert could have been recorded exactly as it was and released on CD. 

(Celler Zeitung)

“That was the musical highlight of the year.” 

The orchestra under the direction of Thomas Boger presented the audience with a varied programme tailored to the acoustics and atmosphere of the church setting. The orchestra demonstrated not only the remarkable breadth of its repertoire, but above all impressed with the quality of its performance: a wide range of musical expression, a high artistic standard and a sound of such presence that even the quietest passages effortlessly filled the nave. 

(Sulinger Kreiszeitung)

“A delight in on Bänkelsängern and Artie Shaw” 

The Orchestra of the State of Lower Saxony, under the inspiring direction of Thomas Boger, presented a sensational concert of symphonic wind music. One of the absolute highlights was Artie Shaw’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra. The American jazz clarinettist, arranger, composer, bandleader and author was represented by soloist Yoshitaka Sumita, who performed the highly virtuosic jazz part with elegance and tonal refinement. The orchestra accompanied him with great assurance through the rhythmically demanding passages under Thomas Boger’s profound direction. 

(Peiner Zeitung) 

“Powerful Sound with Sculpted Contours”

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582 is already a powerful work in its original organ version. Thomas Boger arranged it for his orchestra, preserving its sonic force while giving it clearly sculpted contours as themes and motifs pass through the different sections of the ensemble in a kind of antiphonal interplay. In this interpretation, Bach’s music takes on an immense richness of colour and a sweeping, almost Romantic expressive power.

After a tension-filled introduction, the musicians brought an exuberant wildness to Edvard Grieg’s Norwegian Dance No. 4, while the central section unfolded with the natural, lyrical poetry of flutes and clarinets. In John Barnes Chance’s Variations on a Korean Folk Song, the orchestra once again impressed with refinement of sound, orchestral virtuosity and the brilliance of its solo passages.

(Delmenhorster Kurier) 

“A Sensitive Dialogue among the Winds”

The acoustics of St. Trinitatis Church and the sound of the Orchestra of the State of Lower Saxony complement each other perfectly. This was already evident in the opening work, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor in an arrangement for wind orchestra. In the fugue, the players demonstrated remarkable polyphonic transparency. Flutes, oboes and clarinets engaged in a sensitive dialogue with the brass before bringing the popular work to a powerful tutti conclusion. Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite likewise revealed contrasts of light and shade, delicate moments and almost brutally concentrated bursts of sound. Thomas Boger maintained a finely judged balance between the sections throughout. In Morning Mood, a gentle Nordic day seemed to unfold, growing dynamically through the full orchestra into the radiant beauty of a vivid natural landscape. From the mystical and solemn atmosphere of The Death of Åse and the graceful rhythm of Anitra’s Dance, the performance then moved into the full dramatic force of the orchestra, supported by a virtuosic percussion section and delivered with tremendous impact. 

(Celler Zeitung)

“A Guarantee of Musical Quality”

With an exceptional programme, the Orchestra of the State of Lower Saxony under the direction of Thomas Boger once again demonstrated why it is so highly regarded in the city of Lessing. St. Trinitatis Church proved to be an outstanding venue for the powerfully performing ensemble. Free from the excessive reverberation that can so often be problematic, the immense sonorities were able to unfold throughout the sacred space, while even the quietest passages retained their intimacy. Composers such as Thiemo Krass weave precisely this kind of atmosphere into their music. He calls his tone painting Imagasy – a coined title combining “imagination” and “fantasy”. The musicians carry their audience into a dream world full of shimmering colours. The percussion sets out a muted pulse, the orchestra expands into broad sonic planes, searching for its theme, before a hymn-like melody emerges with growing intensity and eventually culminates in powerful climaxes. Boger resists the obvious temptation to impress his audience through sheer volume alone. Instead, he repeatedly creates moments of atmosphere and refinement, as in the Angel’s Trio from Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Above a spiritually charged soundscape shaped with great effect by trombones and trumpets, flutes and clarinets merge into an enchanting song-like line, almost comparable to the human voice. 

(Braunschweiger Zeitung)

“Police Orchestra in Symbiosis with Rainbirds and Planet Emily: Festival of Generations Gets Aegi Moving” 

The second edition once again fully achieved its aim. Older people, middle-aged audiences and younger generations alike clearly enjoyed themselves just as much as the artists on stage. Under the direction of Thomas Boger, the Orchestra of the State of Lower Saxony impressed at times with sophisticated jazz arrangements and at others with the suitably expansive sound of John Miles’ pop anthem Music. Boger consistently gave his soloists the space to showcase their individual strengths. Together with the bands, the orchestra formed a genuine musical symbiosis. Rainbirds singer Katharina Franck remarked that they had performed countless versions of their hit Blueprint, but that the version with the orchestra was “the crowning achievement of them all.” (Neue Presse, Hannover) 

(Neue Presse, Hannover) 

Under Thomas Boger’s energetic direction, the wind players delivered an outstanding performance both in the Hobbit movement from Johan de Meij’s The Lord of the Rings Symphony and in the boldly sweeping Dance of the Hours from Amilcare Ponchielli’s opera La Gioconda. For the James Bond medley, Boger had more secret weapons at his disposal than Her Majesty’s agent ever carried up his sleeve: his superbly appointed orchestra included several prizewinners of the Jugend musiziert competition. 

(Neue Westfälische Gütersloh)

Through his professionalism on the podium, Thomas Boger inspired the orchestra to create vivid, colourful sonorities and dynamic interplay between woodwinds and brass.

(Die Glocke Gütersloh)