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Thank you, Martin Vollenwyder!
As Chairman of the Board of Directors, Martin Vollenwyder has achieved a great deal.
"Eleven years in which there was no routine" - this is how Artistic Director Ilona Schmiel summarises the time in which Martin Vollenwyder whirled as President of the Board of Directors for the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich. The biggest project that had to be tackled during this time was the interim venue for the Tonhalle am See during its renovation. A venue had to be found or built, centrally located and with reasonable acoustics. And, of course, money was needed to finance such a venue.
This was the moment when Martin Vollenwyder, who had been associated with the theatre since 2002 as Vice President of the previous association, hit top form:the Tonhalle Maag, which has given the orchestra and the public four happy years, was also his personal success. The "NZZ am Sonntag" newspaper put it in a nutshell: "He used all the channels and contacts available to him to achieve what is now the magic of the wooden box on the Maag site - outstanding acoustics that make even the softest sound sound wonderful."
Martin Vollenwyder has also experienced eventful times at the Tonhalle Zurich in other respects, as Mayor Corine Mauch writes: "You have accompanied changes of artistic director and chief conductor and confidently led 'your orchestra' through the years of the coronavirus pandemic." Keyword confidence: Alongside his humour, enthusiasm and a voice that filled the hall even without a microphone, it was indeed a trademark of Martin Vollenwyder. "It'll turn out all right," he would say, and then do everything necessary to make sure it did.
He was often, very often, to be found in concert with his wife Susanne Bernasconi, and they often travelled with him on tour. When they weren't there, says concertmaster Julia Becker, "something was immediately missing". Martin Vollenwyder carried out his duties with a great deal of love for music and the musicians. "Being human without culture is not only boring, but pointless," he once said. With this in mind, no one doubts that he will continue to appear regularly at the Tonhalle Zurich in the future as the newly elected Honorary President.
Here is a small photo gallery as a reminder:
We use deepL.com for our translations into English.