The story of ARCO SINFÓNICA
Starting in mid-2017, our journey began under the name “Latin-Jazz Sinfónica!” as a programme of the Neue Philharmonie Berlin gGmbH initiated by Julia H.M. Diederich and implemented together with conductor Andreas Schulz and arranger Christoph König. The first tour in spring 2018 was entirely dedicated to Latin jazz, and the programme included works arranged for orchestra by Paquito D'Rivera, Pat Metheny, Dave Grusin, Matthias Anton, and Heiko Gottberg, which König arranged for the orchestra, numbering 66 musicians at that time. Conductor Andreas Schulz brought his young orchestra musicians, some of whom were still studying, into the project, while Diederich brought some of her long-time colleagues from the jazz world: Matthias Füchsle (dr), Nico de Haen (p), German Klaiber (b), Maxim Zettel (perc), Heiko Gottberg (guit), the two trumpeters Christian Ehringer and Thomas Hilbert and the three saxophonists Matthias Anton, Tom Timmler and Holger Rohn. The third trumpet player and the trombonists came from the Philharmonic, as did the classical Brazilian percussionist Eduardo Mota.
The tour was, in a way, a test run, because Diederich wanted to see whether her idea of playing Latin jazz with an orchestra was still what she really wanted to do or whether she was just clinging to an old, unfulfilled wish from 2007. Her “Afro Cuban City Big Band”, founded in 2002, was actually supposed to be expanded to include a full symphony orchestra, but this never happened because she had to relearn many basic skills after an invasive examination of her cervical spine in January 2007. The Big Band broke up. The other reason for the tour was that she wanted to check whether the line-up was suitable if she wanted to continue with a Latin orchestra.
This small, first tour brought some insights. One of them was to legally separate Latin-Jazz Sinfónica from the Neue Philharmonie and make it independent. In October 2018, LJS was entered in the commercial register as a limited company, with Diederich as the sole managing partner. The line-up remained unchanged for the time being, as shortly afterwards Latin-Jazz Sinfónica entered into a brief but very intensive collaboration with the Cuban pianist Ramon Valle and his trio (Jamie Peet on drums and Omar Rodriguez Calvo on bass), which brought both groups together for a joint concert to mark the 50th anniversary of the international Burghausen (by) jazz week on the stage of the Wackerhalle.
The sell-out concert was broadcast live on BR television and opened by guitarist Al di Meola. The anniversary night ended well after midnight with a standing ovation for the Latin-Jazz Sinfónica featuring the Ramon Valle Trio. The programme that night consisted of original compositions by pianist Valle, König, Anton, Gottberg and Diederich. In particular, König’s composition “Little Waltz in Five” left a lasting, profound impression on the orchestra leader and reminded her of a sound that she repeatedly heard in her head during her studies: Jazz with symphonic breadth, expanded by elements of world music that at times evoked a cinematic, almost epic mood.
Her two own small compositions from 2019 had already departed from the Latin jazz style, showing that the idea of a Latin jazz orchestra was, in fact, a remnant of the past. She delved even deeper into the essence of music, for her goal was clear: to create a new, original orchestral sound with her own compositions; one in which the orchestral musicians were not mere decoration for the jazz players, but an indispensable part of the whole. It was equally clear that she would not rework well-known pieces from classical music, the Latin genre, or jazz into orchestral arrangements.
From Latin jazz to symphonic jazz
The Burghausen concert brought success, but also the realization that the current lineup urgently needed to be adjusted, because the founder was planning to record an album in the summer of 2020. In particular, the mix in the brass section—some players from the classical world, some from jazz—didn’t work. With an eye to recording the first album, titled “Kaleidoskop,” Diederich reorganized the orchestra, separated the brass from the orchestra, formed a big-band horn section, and brought in Uli Röser (trombone), Marc Roos (trombone), Fabian Beck (bass trombone), and Jens Müller as the third trumpeter. The whole ensemble now sounded more cohesive, clearer, and noticeably tighter. The number of musicians was reduced to 57. Her compositions increasingly revealed her musical signature in the pieces “The secret Story” and “Carissimo.” In “The secret Story,” she drew on some Cuban instruments and rhythms, adapted them for the strings and orchestral winds, combined them with a synth guitar from the jazz idiom, and left space in the middle for a conducted viola solo. Shortly before the end of the piece, she introduced a cinematic atmosphere. “Carissimo” came across as entirely classical and delivered a large-scale, classical yet modern piano concerto, which she wrote in close collaboration with composer Christian D. Dellacher.
COVID and the long road to the first studio production, Kaleidoscop
It was the COVID pandemic that, from March 2020 onwards, brought everything to a standstill and threw all plans into disarray. The virus not only caused massive harm to people’s health but also to the entire economy. One area was hit particularly hard: Culture, because it was already on unsteady ground and struggling along, even before the crisis. With the onset of the pandemic, it completely collapsed. Diederich put it like this: “If several small businesses cough, the entire economy will eventually get the flu and its immune system will suffer.” What Diederich meant were the many artists, event organisers, sound engineers, recording studios, music schools, and so on, all of whom were in some way dependent on one another. Those who had not built up financial reserves were swept away by the pandemic and had a struggle on their hands to stay afloat. At the time, whether they would ever recover from it was completely uncertain. Government COVID relief brought some respite and helped stave off imminent insolvency, but even that offered only limited help. And it did not arrive immediately: it came only after countless small business owners, including many musicians, had already fallen into severe distress, gone to the welfare office, and begged for assistance. At first, the authorities even advised those seeking help to sell their instruments to regain liquidity, which only deepened their hardship.
Because performances and lessons were forbidden, many musicians lost their livelihoods during this time. Some did not survive the virus, others completely lost their footing, and some put their instruments aside forever. Those who wanted to continue playing had fallen completely out of practice, as no rehearsals or performances were permitted. The regulations for any kind of “gathering”, rehearsals in this case, were so burdensome at the time that simply holding a rehearsal for the wind section was impossible, let alone a full ensemble rehearsal. And woe betide anyone who came without a COVID test or not at all because they suddenly had COVID and were in isolation. On top of everything, Berlin was considered a COVID hotspot in the summer of 2020, and the hotels in southern Germany that had already been booked for the studio production in Ludwigsburg refused to check in the 50 orchestra musicians. The production therefore had to be postponed at the last moment to 2021.
The hope was that by then, performances would once again be possible, allowing the musicians to return to their previous level of proficiency.
Despite all optimism, the situation in the summer of 2021 was not much better. Strict COVID regulations and major restrictions on gatherings were still in place, so the production had to be postponed yet again, this time to the following year.
By spring 2022, things were looking somewhat more hopeful. Under certain conditions, musicians had been allowed to perform again since the end of 2021, which meant they could gradually regain their playing level. However, strict safety requirements still applied to the studio production, and understandably so. If even one musician had tested positive for COVID and entered the studio, both the studio staff and the entire orchestra would have been forced to halt work the next day, and the studio would likely have faced an extended closure. These safety measures also meant that Diederich had to have a backup player ready for every musician in case someone had to drop out at short notice. The new start date for the studio production was now set for 22 July 2022.
The impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on the orchestra
Hardly had the twice-postponed studio date been rescheduled, all recording lists revised, and hotels, catering, and flights booked for the third time, when the next shock came: Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Neue Philharmonie Berlin orchestra lost not only several of its musicians, who wanted either to support their homeland or to be with their families, but, above all, its rehearsal space in Berlin. The hall rented by conductor Schulz belonged to a Russian institution, which immediately evicted the entire orchestra because a few Ukrainian musicians were still among its members. This situation forced Diederich to find another orchestra quickly, as she was unwilling to begin a studio production without prior rehearsals. No one knew when or where the ensemble might find a new rehearsal venue. The rehearsals were especially important for helping the orchestral musicians get used to wearing headphones and playing to a click track; both of which these young, classically trained players, despite their great talent, were not accustomed to.
She first came across the Babelsberg Film Orchestra, but they were already booked for the intended studio time. The clock was ticking. There were just twelve days left until the studio appointment. Diederich and König, however, did not want to postpone the production again, since the jazz musicians had already firmly entered this time in their calendars and signed their contracts. The painstaking search for orchestral musicians who not only had experience with click tracks, studio work, and headphones, but could also effortlessly switch from a classical approach to a jazzy one while playing to a click track, was like the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack. But that didn’t stop the founder from continuing her search until she found them.
No orchestra, no drummer, no pianist…
As if that weren’t enough, shortly after the rhythm section’s dress rehearsal, both the drummer and the pianist had to be replaced, right in the middle of the summer holidays and just before the planned production. No question about it: this period was not for the faint of heart. Diederich saw the production slipping further and further away, because even if orchestral musicians, a drummer, and a pianist could still be found, rehearsals would no longer be feasible given the short timeframe, the musicians would first have to learn the pieces on their own. The challenge, therefore, was not only to find musicians available at that time, but ones who could play this kind of music, who would fit in personally, and, of course, who weren’t in quarantine. But Diederich firmly believed in a stroke of good fortune and spent days and nights calling every orchestra she could reach.
The last-minute rescue: the GermanPops Orchestra,
Kristjan Randalu and Wim de Vries
Right at the last moment, just a few days before the recordings were to begin and after countless phone calls, the Estonian pianist Kristjan Randalu agreed to take part, followed shortly afterward by the Dutch drummer Wim de Vries. Both musicians, highly acclaimed and decorated for their playing as well as personally delightful, represented the first part of the jackpot for Latin-Jazz Sinfónica. The second part was the GermanPops Orchestra, founded in 1999 by Bernd Ruf, an ensemble with a long history of success, which also agreed to join the project shortly before production began.
This had been preceded by a phone call with Michael Thumm, managing director of Bauer Studios, in which a despairing Diederich explained she would have to cancel the production unless a miracle happened, as she was still missing the symphonic section of LJS. Less than ten minutes later, he called back and recommended that she contact concertmaster Uli Zimmer of the GermanPops Orchestra, because they were exactly what she needed. A quick look at their website was enough to see why he had recommended them: they had performed with Paul McCartney // Jon Lord (Deep Purple) // Paul Carrack (Mike & the Mechanics) // Chris de Burgh // Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) // Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) // Roger Chapman // Geoff Whitehorn (Procol Harum) // Heinz Rudolf Kunze // Pur // John Miles // Fools Garden // Laith Al Deen // Paquito D’Rivera // Silje Nergaard // Dieter Falk // Sodagreen, and many more. She read further and learned that CD productions featuring the GermanPops Orchestra had been honoured with a Grammy nomination, a platinum record, and several gold records. It was truly a last-minute rescue.
Randalu and de Vries brought with them not only a wealth of studio experience but also extensive backgrounds in jazz, world music, and orchestral performance, all of which were crucial for the original compositions by Christoph König, Matthias Anton, Heiko Gottberg, and Diederich. A key requirement for achieving a good result was attentiveness to the orchestral musicians, really listening and being willing to listen, keeping an eye on the conductor, and responding immediately to dynamic markings. The new orchestra musicians also brought this with them, only in reverse. The new orchestral musicians brought the same qualities, only in reverse.
They paid close attention to the jazz musicians, sounded incredibly cohesive, played with precise rhythm, and, what was truly remarkable, they grooved, which is anything but a given for a classically trained ensemble. Michael Thumm’s tip was worth its weight in gold. Even so, there was a great deal of tension on the first day of the recording week, starting on 22 July 2022, since only those who had tested negative for COVID were allowed into the studio. And because there had been no rehearsal beforehand, the two directors, König and Diederich, had no idea how the compositions would sound with the new musicians. A half-day rehearsal was held at Bauer Studios right away, and it was so good that the sound engineers secretly recorded it.
After ten days, the recording of “Kaleidoskop” was in the bag, a testament to the extraordinary professionalism of everyone involved, as every note, articulation, and dynamic marking was spot on from the very first take. But the week was about much more than that. Within an incredibly short time, all the musicians grew together into a kind of family and they seemed to miss one another as early as the very first day after the production, as the LJS group chat was practically overflowing The CD, consisting entirely of original compositions, was conducted by Andreas Schulz, who also took on the piano part in “Carissimo”, which made a second conductor necessary for that piece. Unfortunately, the attempt to recruit the founder and director of the GermanPops Orchestra, Bernd Ruf, was unsuccessful, but he did give a recommendation: Klaus Wilhelm. Although the well-known musical conductor had just begun to gradually retire, he did not want to deny Diederich her wish to conduct Carissimo. Experiencing this piece with this orchestra and this pianist was an enormously moving experience. The album was recorded by sound engineers Adrian von Ripka and Daniel Keinath and released under the “NEUKLANG” label of the Bauer Studios.
The new lineup now included the jazz group’s tenor saxophonists Matthias Anton, Holger Rohn, and Andreas Pomp; trombonists Ulrich Röser, Marc Roos, and Fabian Beck; and trumpeters Christian Ehringer, Jens Müller, and Ralf Hesse. In addition came the 30-piece GermanPops Orchestra, Kristjan Randalu and Wim de Vries, German Klaiber on electric and double bass, Heiko Gottberg on guitar, and Maxim Zettel and Eduardo Mota on percussion. Concertmaster Uli Zimmer was a particular delight, for it is by no means common for communication between concertmaster, conductor, orchestra, composers, and arranger to be so wonderfully straightforward, clear, purposeful, and above all, warm-hearted. However, Uli Zimmer is not “just” the artistic and musical concertmaster, but also the organisational orchestra manager. A dual function that is separated elsewhere.
The great uncertainty:
Post-COVID, worries about the company’s future, and tour cancellations looming ahead.
The plan to go on a small promotional tour in late summer or autumn 2023 with the first production, “Kaleidoskop,” fell through when the founder contracted COVID in March 2023. In addition to the then-typical symptoms, she developed others that were not yet known at the time and therefore could not be treated. Even the smallest effort afterward led to a crash, forcing her to lie in a dark, soundproofed room. Sitting, standing, or walking caused her blood pressure to plummet, leading to fainting spells, and even brief conversations or soft music triggered severe dizziness. Her concentration also suffered; just five minutes at the computer were enough to bring on another dizzy spell. The fear of having to dissolve the orchestra and close the company because of her condition grew steadily. The tour was postponed to 2024, as she refused to give up hope of regaining her health by then.
A World Music Suite in 3D: Movie Sinfónica
Diederich’s health continued to deteriorate, and instead of going on tour, she planned to record a second album in November 2023. She was simply afraid she might have to give up the orchestra due to her worsening condition before the new pieces could be recorded, specifically with (and by) the same musicians who had played on Kaleidoskop, with one exception: Vibraphonist Salome Amend replaced percussionist Eduardo Mota. König also arranged the songs “Jerusalem” by M. Anton and “A thing of me” by H. Gottberg and composed “Getting Better” and “Nachtschicht”. The new pieces included elements from late-romantic orchestral literature, jazz, Oriental and Cuban rhythms, electronic club music and modern film score sounds. It was clear that this album was very important to her.
Movie Sinfónica was, as planned, recorded at the end of November 2023 and conducted by Bernd Ruf. Ruf is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field of Classical Crossover. In 2001, he received a Grammy nomination as a conductor for an orchestral production with Cuban jazz musician Paquito D’Rivera. Over more than three decades, he has pursued his musical credo of bringing together diverse musical genres and cultures. His extensive experience in both jazz and classical music was immediately apparent. The conductor and compositions couldn’t have been a better fit. The pieces, written precisely for the musicians, possessed exactly the brilliance, density, depth, and expansiveness that Diederich and König had envisioned. However, Diederich postponed the release, originally scheduled for August 2024 to late August 2025 – a full year. The reason: A complete mitochondrial exhaustion was first diagnosed at the end of 2023, accompanied by the unmistakable instruction to immediately cease all activity. In the spring of 2024, bone marrow inflammation and an autoimmune disease were added to the list. The latter forced her to cancel the tour altogether, as it left her unable to move her arms or legs. As her inflammation levels rose, so did her fear that she might not be able to finish or release the CD at all.
And once again, it seemed no coincidence that something had to be postponed, as she felt that the album was still missing two pieces. Which ones, she didn’t yet know; she simply felt that the two numbers were waiting for the right moment to rise to the surface. That moment came at the end of 2024, when “Aria” and “Dolce Vita” came into being. Aria was written in close collaboration with her esteemed colleague Christoph König, since by then she could no longer tolerate any sounds at all. Instead of composing the piano part for Aria at the grand piano, she wrote the notes directly from her mind into notation software. In January 2025, everyone came together once more at the Bauer Studios to record the two pieces. Diederich, meanwhile, sat at home and followed the recordings only via her computer screen, as, after countless examinations, a physician specialising in COVID finally diagnosed her with post-COVID. To write the lyrics for Aria, she didn’t need to hear much; the notes themselves, and what was stirring within her, were enough.
Conductor Bernd Ruf was able to enlist the members of the Stuttgart State Opera Choir and the SWR Vocal Ensemble Stuttgart for the performance. Diederich also had to follow this session from afar, at her computer. Both Diederich and König, along with their long-time colleagues from the Jazz Group and the orchestra, feared for the ensemble’s future, yet they never lost hope that things would eventually turn for the better. The choral recording and mixing were handled by sound engineer Martin Dressler from Bauer Studios, with Bernd Ruf conducting. Afterward, all the pieces, both those recorded in November 2023 and the new ones, were remixed by Martin Dressler, and from May 2025 onward, in close collaboration with Diederich, who by then was fortunately somewhat more stable.
She had a very specific sound in mind: “If it says Movie Sinfónica on the outside, then it has to be Movie Sinfónica on the inside.” That made her vision unmistakably clear: a cinematic musical experience, one that would unfold as films inside the listeners’ minds after just a few bars. She also wanted Movie Sinfónica to be released in Dolby Atmos, which meant that everything had to be mixed once again. The planned August 2025 release date could not be met, as the album ended up being mixed three times in total. A new date was set: 05 December 2025.
Latin-Jazz Sinfónica became Arco Sinfónica
The pieces now spanned a wide musical arc, from jazz to world music, through modern classical works and film-score sounds, all united by the unmistakable artistic signatures of Christoph König and Julia Diederich. “We’ve done it,” she said to König, “ARCO SINFÓNICA now truly stands for a kind of music that feels familiar to both jazz lovers and classical music enthusiasts. It inspires them and represents a new orchestral sound.”
Before everything could go to the pressing plant, however, the orchestra’s name had to be changed and a new logo created, since Latin-Jazz Sinfónica no longer suited the music at all. Arco – bow – symphony – sinfónica – Arco Sinfónica. Perfect. Now the name and content matched.
Fortunately, Diederich had already been thinking for some time about a suitable name, since renaming a limited company is anything but quick. Whether she would manage to complete the layout for the CD and LP in time no longer seemed in doubt: from January 2025, she had been under the care of a post-COVID specialist, whose treatment gradually began to take effect months later.
Then, in May 2025, her general practitioner had a breakthrough idea to finally tackle the dizzy spells, the extreme fatigue after minimal exertion, and her hypersensitive nervous system. Less than two weeks later, she was well enough to sit at her desk for longer periods and listen to quiet music again. Together with graphic designer Jonathan Kleczkowski, she completed the booklet design. She had written the texts earlier, during the time she composed the pieces themselves.
By August 2025, what Diederich called her “World Music Suite in 3D” was ready to be sent to the pressing plant, and the release date no longer needed to be postponed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“When you look at the history of Arco Sinfónica, you realise there are no coincidences, everything follows a kind of personal script. Everything happens as it is meant to happen, because that’s how new doors keep opening and new experiences find their place.”
Julia H. M. Diederich
“The music of Arco Sinfónica is both a vessel of experience and a generator of new inner films.”