The Uniorchester Bonn – Camerata musicale (an ensemble of the University of Bonn’s Forum Musik und Tanz) was founded in 1969 by Gisela Mettig, née Weyres, and Dr Uwe Schmelter as a chamber orchestra and ensemble of the then Collegium musicum of the University of Bonn.

The Camerata quickly grew into a symphony orchestra and became an integral part of the Collegium musicum programme. In 1971, Prof Rainer Cadenbach joined as conductor, who led the Camerata from 1976 to 1987. He always selected thematically coherent pieces. This led to the development of a trademark of the orchestra: the »Conference Concerts«, at which Cadenbach himself always gave the audience some academically sound and highly eloquent verbal explanations.

From 1987–2008, Michael (»Cuius«) Küßner was the conductor. During this time in particular, the orchestra undertook numerous trips to neighbouring European countries. It took part in the international youth orchestra meetings »Eurochestries« several times – and was able to experience and share the joy of the participating Latvian orchestra in the year of Latvia’s independence. In its anniversary year 2019, the Camerata travelled to St Andrews (Scotland) to provide musical accompaniment to the rector’s visit there.

During the long period of the coronavirus pandemic, the orchestra remained the same size, as alternative programmes were always created. In 2021, for example, in addition to chamber music programmes, a very popular series of online masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians was offered under the title »ÜbDichKrass« and a digital video flash mob was produced in the university courtyard. In August 2022, the orchestra made a guest appearance at the Cologne Philharmonie, where it accompanied Bodo Wartke and others. In October 2022, a new concert format was ventured: with the first »Singfonie – Das Partykonzert«, the orchestra was able to inspire new audiences with a pop music programme to sing along to in the completely sold-out university auditorium.

Conductor Martin Kirchharz has led the Camerata since the 2008/09 winter semester. Under his leadership, there were also unusual works to discover. However, the ever-expanding line-up also allowed the great classics of Romantic orchestral literature to be performed. Now renamed as the Bonn University Orchestra – Camerata musicale, the Camerata has well over 100 musicians, most of them students, making it the largest student symphony orchestra at the University of Bonn. As an orchestra, it is an important part of the University of Bonn’s Forum Musik programme, which also includes the orchestra and choir of the Collegium musicum Bonn. Although the traditional name Camerata musicale suggests that it is a chamber orchestra, it was the wish to continue the name and to show its actual nature as a symphony orchestra with the prefix »Uniorchester Bonn«: a symphony orchestra with a lively university history and a long tradition at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn.