Music
15 instead of a maximum of 100 choirs: German Choir Championship
In 2020 and 2021, the plan for a new German choral championship in Koblenz fell victim to crown restrictions: now the singers’ meeting will take place on a smaller scale this weekend in the Rhine-Moselle city. Instead of the original up to 100 choirs, only 15 groups of singers from all over Germany are expected from Friday to Sunday (21-23 October), according to the organizing association Interkultur. However, the joy is great – according to Interkultur, the choirs “make the whole city resonate and show their audience: we’re still here! We sing, we enjoy each other’s exchange and we want to bring the choir scene back to life!”
In 2020 and 2021, the plan for a new German choral championship in Koblenz fell victim to crown restrictions: now the singers’ meeting will take place on a smaller scale this weekend in the Rhine-Moselle city. Instead of the original up to 100 choirs, only 15 groups of singers from all over Germany are expected from Friday to Sunday (21-23 October), according to the organizing association Interkultur. However, the joy is great – according to Interkultur, the choirs “make the whole city resonate and show their audience: we’re still here! We sing, we enjoy each other’s exchange and we want to bring the choir scene back to life!”
On Friday there will be an opening concert with the Koblenz University of Music and the Rheinische Philharmonie State Orchestra, on Saturday a choral competition with a prize pool of 2,000 euros and on Sunday there will be choir performances in various locations.
Rhineland-Palatinate Choral Association spokesman Dieter Meyer told the German news agency that there should still be around 1,500 secular choirs in the state. It is estimated that around 150 would have surrendered during times of severe crown-related restrictions, especially in villages. “There was still a lack of young people,” Meyer explains. The situation is generally better in the cities. “The numbers are likely to be similar for church choirs,” he suspects.
But there are also positive examples: “Some choirs stayed on the ball with online rehearsals during the Corona period. They tried new literature and now they have perfected it in face-to-face meetings,” says the association’s spokesperson. In the summer of 2022 the concert calendar was once again full of choral music. “Now around Christmas, however, only a few concerts have been scheduled so far,” adds Meyer. “Nobody knows exactly how things will go with Corona. Everything is still very subdued.”
German Choir Championship
