The Collegium Vocale Ghent was founded in 1970 on the initiative of Philippe Herreweghe. It was one of the first ensembles to use the then-new ideas about baroque practice in vocal music performances. Musicians such as Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman and Nikolaus Harnoncourt immediately made contact with the Flemish ensemble and became involved in intensive collaboration. Since the mid-1980s the Collegium Vocale Ghent has enjoyed international fame and has been invited to all the major concert halls and music festivals of Europe, Israel, Russia, the United States, East Asia, and Australia. The repertoire of Collegium Vocale Ghent is not limited to one particular stylistic period but ranges from Renaissance polyphony, baroque works, and classical and romantic oratorios to contemporary music, with the works of Bach and Handel as their mainstay. In 2009 the ensemble embarked on a collaboration with the Accademia Chigiana in Siena for the performance of the major symphonic repertoire. Along with regular performances with the Orchestre Baroque of the Collegium Vocale Ghent and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, the Collegium Vocale Ghent has partnered with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Ricercar Consort, as well as with such traditional symphony orchestras as the Royal Concergebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and the Vienna Philharmonic. Such conductors as Sigiswald Kuijken, René Jacobs, Daniel Reuss, Paul Van Nevel, Bernard Haitink, and Iván Fischer have led the ensemble in these projects. Documenting their artistic legacy is an extensive discography of over 65 highly acclaimed recordings. Das Collegium Vocale Ghent is funded by the Flemish Cultural Ministry, the Province of Eastern Flanders, and the City of Ghent.