Romy Gundermann

Romy Gundermann
Born 1933 (age 83–84)
Aschaffenburg, Germany
Nationality German
Other names Romy Kalb-Gundermann
Occupation Classical soprano
Years active 1959–1990s
Spouse(s) Alfred Kalb

Romy Gundermann (born 1933) is a German soprano who was active in performing from 1959 to the early 1990s throughout Germany and the neighboring countries. After her retirement from the concert stage, she began working as a concert promoter and charity event organizer.

Early life

Romy Gundermann was born in 1933 in Aschaffenburg to a family that encouraged her musical talent. At the age of 13, she began appearing in productions such as a film on the fairy tale Hänsel und Gretel.[1]

Marriage and career

She married shortly after graduating from high school and had two children. Her husband, Alfred Kalb, was a pianist, but gave up a career in music to run his family's shirt company. He encouraged his wife to pursue her desire to sing and she began performing in Frankfurt and Munich. Her official debut was in 1959 at the Stadttheater Aschaffenburg (municipal theatre), where "critics praised her unique timbre, the softness of her singing and her high luminosity".[2]

Gundermann performed throughout Germany as well as in neighboring countries and as a representative of the Goethe-Institut made tours in India and Egypt. She appeared in the Berliner Philharmonie over 30 times and sang in Mozart's Coronation Mass at the Salzburg Festival.[2] She won many competitions and made many recordings.[1]

Charity concerts

Beginning in the 1980s Gundermann began to organize charity concerts, including the "ECCO - Help through Art" project which is an innovative program that promotes local talent and uses revenues from the concerts they perform to complete public works projects.[1] She retired from the concert stage in the early 1990s but has continued as a concert organizer, with such events as the Advent concert series for Aschaffenburg and spring concerts which have included Wenn die Magnolien blüh'n.[2]

Public Service Medal

In 2014, Gundermann and her husband were honored with a Public Service Medal of Aschaffenburg for their commitment to expanding music awareness and adding to the cultural heritage of the town.[3]

Retirement

Gundermann retired from the concert stage in the early 1990s but remains active as a concert organizer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Romy Kalb-Gundermann". Aschaffenburg (in German). Stadt Aschaffenburg. pp. Aschaffenburg, Germany. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Romy Gundermann (Soprano)". bach-cantatas. Bach Cantatas. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Bürgermedaille: Romy Kalb-Gundermann und Alfred Kalb werden am Montag im Stadttheater ausgezeichnet" (in German). Aschaffenburg, Germany: Main-Echo. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
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