New Westphalian Philharmonic

With around 120 members, the NPW is not only one of the largest orchestras in North Rhine-Westphalia, but is also the largest of the three state orchestras. The musicians manage almost 300 events per season. The main task is to play symphony concerts in Recklinghausen, Gelsenkirchen and in the Unna district as well as throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. The ensemble also acts as the opera orchestra of the Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen and covers the entire range of orchestral literature from the Baroque to the modern in its diverse concert series. Crossover concerts with pop, rock and film music are also part of the NPW repertoire. The orchestra also dedicates itself intensively to music education in numerous projects.

In addition to the city of Recklinghausen, the orchestra is supported by the city of Gelsenkirchen and the district of Unna. In addition, the NPW is supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the regional association of Westphalia-Lippe as the state orchestra in order to serve cities and communities that do not have their own symphony orchestra. The orchestra gives regular concerts in Herne, Herten, Wesel, Rheda-Wiedenbrück and Mülheim an der Ruhr, in the country's major concert halls such as the Dortmund Concert Hall, the Essen and Cologne Philharmonics and in the arenas in Cologne and Oberhausen. The ensemble is also on tour outside the state borders of North Rhine-Westphalia, as it has recently done several times at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. In the summer of 2019, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen celebrated its concert premiere in the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie as part of an evening with Anna Netrebko.

Rasmus Baumann has been general music director of the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen since 2014, and he has been breaking new ground with his orchestra ever since: be it the new conception of the symphony concert cycle, the establishment of new concert formats such as the crossover concerts "NPW goes ..." in the Ruhrfestspielhaus or the series of family concerts for young and old, with which the NPW opens up to new target groups.

With its various concert series, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen sets the cornerstones of the cultural life of the city of Recklinghausen: with the symphony concert cycle or "NPW goes ...", with the town hall concerts in chamber music formations, with "NPW Barock" entirely dedicated to early music in the Christ Church or programs for children and young people.