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The German counter-tenor, Ulf Zastrau, serves continuously as an organist in Recklinghausen, Herne and Bochum.. From 1997 to 2001 he sang tenor in the Hertener Kantorei under Elke Cernysev. Since 1995 he got his first singing lessons from the Düsseldorf counter-tenor Ingo Hanne, at the Robert-Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf he participated in interpretation courses, such as "Early Music" and "The Bach Aria".
From 1998 to 2001, Ulf Zastrau took over the direction of the Gospelchores Herten-Westerholt, performing with them several large-scale concert events, and CD recordings. In 2001 he received training as a part-time church musician (D). Since then, he frequently fills in the Kreiskantors Stefan Iseke on holidays and other dates.
Ulf Zastrau has consciously decided against singing studies in a music school in order not to be financially dependent on his voice and the pressure to perform. In 2001 he therefore moved to the studies of physics in Jena (Thuringia). It was here where he got private singing lessons with the retired high school singing teacher (e.g. Halle (Saale), Weimar) and soprano Sigrid Jahn. From 2002 to 2008, he was a member of the Vokalensemble Eisenberg, and a founding member of the chamber music ensemble Consortium Officii.
After a few appearances in North Rhine-Westphalia (Heinrich Schütz: Musikalische Exequien, J.S. Bach: Johannespassion), Ulf Zastrau debuted in Jena on the first Advent 2003 in collaboration with LKMD Martin Meier with arias by J.S. Bach and George Frideric Handel at the Stadtkirche St. Michael. At the same time he began his collaboration with the Kantors of Jena, Eisenberg and Neustadt an der Orla, singing G.F. Handel's Dixit Dominus, Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria and various Bach Cantatas. He co-operates mainly with local church musicians. In addition, he performs nationally beyond the borders of Thuringia, such as in Mülheim a.d. Ruhr 2002 (H. Schütz and J.S. Bach) or Gladbeck 2003 (Charles Gounod).
His activities are not limited to early music - Ulf Zastrau also performs Romantic masterpiece (Camille Saint-Saëns) as well as works by contemporary composers such as John Weyrauch and Rolf
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