Christian Rabenda
I am Christian Rabenda.
Originally from Dortmund, Germany, I currently reside in Seoul, South Korea.
My interests are rather boundless, but my work and activities primarily revolve around Classical and New Music, Language, and Christian Faith. more
After having studied both classical and popular music intensively in my youth (piano, music theory, singing, classical percussion), I decided to give up the pursuit of a career as a professional performer. Instead, I studied musicology and religious studies at the University of Göttingen, Germany.
From my early teenage years onward, I had opportunities to gain significant professional experience in a broad range of fields: music production and management, media, marketing, sales, music and language education, language consulting, and later, journalism.
Rather unexpectedly – or even miraculously – I became a Christian as an adult. Ever since, I have been deeply involved in churches, Christian communities, and various Christian ministries.
I am married to the concert pianist Kim Rabenda, and as of 2025, we are based in Seoul, South Korea. less
Current Projects & Activities
Journalism [ music | religion ]
Since 2012, I have been active as a journalist (writer, editor, radio contributor) in the fields of New Music / Contemporary Classical Music and Christian faith. I have worked with leading German New Music magazines such as »MusikTexte«, »nmz – neue musikzeitung«, and »Neue Zeitschrift für Musik«, as well as with German radio stations including »Deutschlandfunk« and »SWR«, and I was also intensively involved with the Christian campus magazine »bedacht« for several years (see below).
In recent years, since the pandemic, my journalistic background has found expression more indirectly, through lecture concerts, concert programme books, and related activities. However, as of 2024, I am in the process of working on new projects that will bring my work also back into more classical journalistic contexts.
»sämusic« is a platform for New Music projects and concert productions I founded together with my wife, pianist Kim Rabenda, in 2017. Our aim is to present New Music within a seamless aesthetic experience that also engages with the rich intellectual and artistic discourses surrounding it.
Funded by the »Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture«, we launched »sämusic« in 2018 with an inaugural lecture concert on »Culture and Identity: New Music Between Korea and Germany« at Ilshin Hall, Seoul, followed by several other productions. After the pandemic had greatly limited our activities, we are, as of 2024, in the process of planning more regular productions to take place from 2025 onwards.
Together with my wife, pianist Kim Rabenda, I established »Studio Rabenda« in 2017 as a space for music education and musical events. With two branches in Seoul, we consider »Studio Rabenda« a premium institution, offering world-class instruction in piano, music theory, and composition, as well as in foreign languages (German and English), including expert guidance in essay writing, interview preparation, and language and educational consulting, as well as hosting masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians.
With professional backgrounds in both music and language, we aim to maintain exceptionally high standards, combining depth of expertise with a welcoming atmosphere that is accessible to passionate learners of all levels – whether aspiring professionals or dedicated hobbyists.
Since its inception, »Studio Rabenda« has also been serving as a space for intimate musical events, such as house concerts.
KONIA
German-Korean Ecumenical Initiative
»KONIA« is a project I initiated in cooperation with my friend Yung-Hee Yoon, whom I first met and worked with on the church council of »EGDS«, a German-speaking Protestant congregation in Seoul.
»KONIA« was founded in August 2024 as an ecumenical Christian ministry – although not a church in the traditional sense – drawing inspiration for its name from the Greek word »koinonia« – community and participation. We focus on community-oriented projects, ranging from convivial gatherings like picnics – offered in a spirit of Christian hospitality, yet welcoming to all – to activities more explicitly rooted in Christian practice, such as ecumenical Bible studies and inter-denominational faith-related discussion groups.
Freelancing
Having engaged in various freelance activities all my life – both prior to and alongside my other, more formal projects – including working as a freelance journalist, consulting and producing for music and concert initiatives, providing foreign language instruction, and offering educational consulting, I still continue to pursue such freelance work on a case-by-case basis.
Former Projects & Activities
»bedacht – Das Christliche Hochschulmagazin« was the largest Christian campus magazine in Germany. more
In existence from 2011 to 2017 and run by a nationwide team of 50 university students and graduates as volunteer writers, editors, layouters and marketers, »bedacht« reached more than 100 university campuses per semester at its peak distribution.
One of the core principles behind »bedacht« was that university students would write directly for their peers about their own Christian faith – intellectually sophisticated and relatable.
Originally founded in 2011 within the campus ministry »SMD« (the German version of InterVarsity/IFES) at the University of Göttingen, I joined the »bedacht« team in 2012 as an editor and core-team member, helped guide its spin-off into a stand-alone ministry organization, and subsequently served as executive director, editor, and coordinator-general until 2017.
Considering »bedacht« one of my most meaningful engagements in Christian ministry, that time and our vision continue to inspire me to this day, as I am in the process of developing a follow-up project of sorts, differing in form yet echoing the same spirit. Stay tuned. less
Duo Bickel-Bornemann
»Duo Bickel-Bornemann« was a music duo for classical and sophisticated popular music from Dortmund, Germany. more
Formed in 1978 by semi-professional bass-baritone Manfred Bickel (1931–2021) and professional pianist/accordionist Brunhilde Bornemann (*1938), »Duo Bickel-Bornemann« had performed in and around Dortmund, appeared on local and national television, and released an LP record in 1982.
From 2001 to 2006, at a very young age, I had the opportunity of serving as the Duo's manager and producer, directing several audio and video productions, as well as conducting business and marketing efforts, which granted me a unique early entry into the professional music world. less
Faith, Church & Ministry
Since shortly after I became a Christian, I have been actively involved in Christian churches and ministries. more
When I started my Christian faith journey and joined a free evangelical church in Germany, I quickly immersed myself in the faith, in church life and Christian community.
At the University of Göttingen, I served on the leadership team of the »SMD« campus ministry (the German version of InterVarsity/IFES), running a lunchtime prayer group for several years, leading an international small group, acting as a delegate to the national conference, and helping with various day-to-day tasks.
In Germany, I was firmly rooted in the free-church, Baptist and non-denominational evangelical world. After moving to Korea, however, I became a Methodist and joined »Chungdong First Methodist Church« in Seoul, the oldest Protestant church in Korea, founded in 1885. In its English Ministry congregation, I served as young adults leader and lay committee (church council) member for two-and-a-half years, also initiating and leading the congregation’s first small group.
Having also attended several English-speaking Baptist, non-denominational, and Pentecostal-leaning churches in Seoul, the pandemic brought about my first truly prolonged spiritual drought since becoming a Christian – a dark valley of two long years devoid of any significant church or ministry involvement.
In early 2022, with the pandemic’s end in sight, my wife and I joined »EGDS«, a German-speaking Mainline-Protestant congregation in Seoul, where I have served on the church council from 2023 till 2024, helping with routine council work and being particularly involved with organizing music-related events and church services.
Since 2022, I have been a member of »ILC – International Lutheran Church« in Seoul – one of the healthiest Christian communities I have ever encountered – where, by means of Lutheran confirmation, I have also become an official Lutheran in 2023. At »ILC« I don't have any formal role, for a change, volunteering a bit here and there, but mainly enjoying God’s free gift of grace week after week.
Throughout my life as a Christian, I have maintained an ecumenical and inter-denominational outlook onto the faith. As a Lutheran I believe that denominational distinctions in culture and doctrine do, in fact, matter. Yet neither does that preclude the enriching nor the sharpening qualities of the exchange with brothers and sisters from other parts of the Christian world. I find myself inspired by the cultural and intellectual richness of the Roman Catholic tradition, by the austerity of strict reformed Christianity and by the “hipster” aesthetics of modern Pentecostalism alike; and of course I would not want to miss any of the (denominational) stations on my own Christian journey either. less
(For my major projects »KONIA« and »bedacht«, please see above.)
© 2025, Christian Rabenda