The Sinfonie Orchester Schöneberg (SOS) [Schöneberg Symphony Orchestra] was founded in April 1993 to give highly motivated musicians who are no longer members of youth orchestras or university orchestras an opportunity to continue working with an high-quality orchestra. The orchestra organizes itself as a non-profit society. It is financed by fees from its members, income from concerts, and donations.
The orchestra usually prepares three programs per year in concentrated rehearsal periods. Concerts are performed in the town hall of the Berlin district of Schöneberg (Rathaus Schöneberg) and also in the Philharmonie concert hall in Berlin. Besides playing well-known pieces, the orchestra dedicates itself to the presentation of rarely performed works. Together with Hermann Bäumer, its chief conductor at the time, the orchestra gave the German premiere of the Kalevala-Suite by Uuno Klami. In March 1998, as part of the Berlin Philharmonic's "Wanderer-Cycle" concert series, the orchestra performed the complete text of Lord Byron's poem Manfred with Robert Schumann's music. In December 2001 the orchestra gave the world premiere of a work it commissioned, Drei Tänze des Mondes (Three Dances of the Moon) by Il-Ryun Chung.
In spring 2000 the orchestra took its first tour, to Mexico. It performed concerts in Mexico City, Queretaro, Puebla and other cultural centers. In Puebla a special concert for children was presented. In addition to its full symphonic program, the orchestra twice performed Ein deutsches Requiem together with the choir Coro de la Escuela de Música de San Luis Potosí from San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The visit developed into a strong collaboration with the choral musicians from Mexico. In 2001 the choir from San Luis Potosí was invited to come to Germany, where the Messa da Requiem by Verdi was performed in Magdeburg, Dresden and Berlin. In 2002 the orchestra performed the Divertimento for Piano and Orchestra in the presence of its Mexican composer, Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras. In autumn 2003 the Sinfonie Orchester Schöneberg took a tour to Italy with concerts in Arezzo, Assisi and Rome.
Finally, why Schöneberg? Schöneberg is an important district of Berlin, and the orchestra has its rehearsals in the district's town hall, the Rathaus Schöneberg. During the time that Berlin was divided into East and West (1945-1989), the Rathaus Schöneberg was the town hall of the American, British and French sectors of the divided city. After the reunification of the city in 1990, the governing mayor of Berlin moved his office from the Rathaus Schöneberg to the original main town hall Rotes Rathaus in the historical centre, which had been in East Berlin before 1990. Since that time some of the facilities of the Rathaus Schöneberg have been provided free of charge for cultural purposes. The orchestra is thankful for the opportunity to make use of this situation, and therefore chose the name Sinfonie Orchester Schöneberg.
