Newcastle Bach Choir

PATRICK VAN GOETHEM, countertenor, was educated in the baroque field by Paul Esswood, Julia Hamari and Andreas Scholl. He is now a frequently requested concert singer, working as soloist with many reputable conductors such as Peter Neumann (Collegium Cartusianum, recording Händel’s Belshazzar), Gustav Leonhardt and Jos Van Veldhoven (the Nederlandse Bachvereniging), Hans-Christoph Rademann (Dresdner Hofmusik, CD-recordings with work from Heinichen and Zelenka and Händel’s Dixit Dominus), Reinhard Goebel (former Musica Antiqua Köln), Helmuth Rilling (Bach Collegium Stuttgart), Peter Kooij (Ensemble De Profundis), Frieder Bernius (Barockorchester Stuttgart), Edward Higginbottom (New College Choir Oxford), Pierre Cao (Concerto Köln), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (Concerto Copenhagen), Enoch zu Guttenberg (Orchester Klangverwaltung), Richard Egarr (Concerto d'Amsterdam) and Martin Haselböck (Wiener Akademie). In 2004 he recorded Bach’s Himmelfahrts- and Osteroratorium on CD (BIS Label) with the Bach Collegium Japan (Masaaki Suzuki).

In 2005 he made his American debut with the American Bach Soloists (Jeffrey Thomas) in Bach’s Magnificat and Osteroratorio followed by Bach’s B-minor Mass with The Washington Bach Consort (Reilly Lewis). In 2006/2007 Patrick Van Goethem recorded the Buxtehude Cantatas on CD with Ton Koopman and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. That same year he sang the alto arias in Bach’s St. John’s Passion during a European concert tour with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, conducted by Frans Brüggen. On March 8, 2007 he sang the world premiere in the BFM in Geneva of the chamber opera Trans Warhol, about the life of Andy Warhol, of the French composer Philippe Schoeller. Other engagements in 2007 included Bach’s B-minor Mass in Lissabon with Michel Corboz (Gulbenkian Orchestra). In 2008 Patrick Van Goethem sang Bach solo cantatas with the Canadian baroque ensemble Les Idées Heureuses (Geneviève Soly) in the festivals of Picardie and Pontoise. He made his debut in the Wiener Musikverein with Martin Haselböck's Wiener Akademie in Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Recent engagements in 2009 included Bach's B-minor Mass with Frans Brüggen in a tour with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Summer 2009 he was invited to sing a Bach Alto solo cantatas programme in the festivals Soli Deo Gloria Braunschweig (of Sir John Eliot Gardiner), Bachfest Leipzig with Marcel Ponseele's baroque ensemble Il Gardellino.

Future engagements include Bach’s Magnificat with the Newcastle Bach Choir and Newcastle Baroque conducted by Eric Cross in 2010. In January 2011 he will start a concert tour of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with soprano Katharine Fuge.

He has been a guest at important festivals such as the Festival Van Vlaanderen, Oude Muziekfestival Utrecht, Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Festliche Tage Alter Musik Knechtsteden, Händelfestspiele Halle, Händelfestspiele Göttingen, Bachfest Leipzig, Alte Musik Festival Dresden, London Bach Festival, Musica Antiqua Brugge, Festival Rencontres Musicales de Vezélay, Itinéraire Baroque, Festival Herrenchiemsee, Rheingau Musikfestival, Festival Soli Deo Gloria Braunschweig. In addition to his career as a concert singer, Patrick Van Goethem is founder and artistic director of the Flanders Baroque Consort & Players www.patrickvangoethem.com