Freiburg Baroque Orchestra to have a new management team

From July 2026, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (FBO) will have a new management team: Selma Brauns will take over as Artistic Director, and Paul Enke as Commercial Director. Together, they will form the ensemble’s new dual leadership. Hans-Georg Kaiser, the outgoing Managing Director and Artistic Director, will remain with the FBO in a new role and, as Senior Director of Development & Relations, will take on responsibilities in the areas of fundraising, sponsorship and relationship management, according to a press release from the orchestra.

In Selma Brauns, a cultural manager is taking on the role of Artistic Director, combining artistic work and strategic development in a unique way through her own musical practice. She played the violin in the German National Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and studied at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover. As a founding member and managing director of ensemble reflektor, as well as managing director of PODIUM Esslingen, she has played a key role in shaping innovative concert formats, new ways of engaging with audiences and artistic experiments in recent years. At the same time, she deepened her expertise in cultural management in Lüneburg, thereby increasingly bringing together artistic, organisational and audience-specific considerations.

Paul Enke also brings a wealth of experience from theatre, opera and cultural management. After studying at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin and a stint at the German National Theatre in Weimar, he was closely associated with the opera classes at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar for many years, particularly in the field of early music. Since completing his Master’s degree in Cultural Management at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre, he has also developed a continuous practice in musical theatre production and festival management. Through his work at the interface of artistic development, strategic planning and financial responsibility, he is particularly well-suited to the commercial management of an ensemble such as the FBO

With its new management team, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra is setting the course early on for the coming years and the next stages of its development. Hans-Georg Kaiser, who has shaped the ensemble over many years as managing director and artistic director, will oversee this transition and, drawing on his experience and network, remain closely associated with the FBO in a new role.