Description
The New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia was founded by a merger of two orchestras in the northern Ruhr area in 1996: the Westphalian Symphony Orchestra in Recklinghausen and the Philharmonic Orchestra in Gelsenkirchen. The conductor Heiko Mathias Forster makes regular guest appearances with orchestras all over the world. Ursula Schoch played in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado for two years. In 2000 she became leader of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, which with its principal conductor Mariss Jansons is one of the most popular European ensembles.