Many choirs have given up during the pandemic. But now a turnaround may be in sight. Choirs with special concepts are booming, especially in cities.
Nuremberg/Essen – Stretching, warming up – the women have spread out all over the room to warm up for the rehearsal of the Nuremberg women’s choir Desirenen. Choir director Agathe Labus stands at the front and plays the notes on her keyboard. Soon the entire room is filled with polyphonic singing. After the rehearsal she is always euphoric, says choir member Anna Geck.
The choir, which currently has 50 singers, is popular – there is even a waiting list for new members. The situation is no different for the Essen a cappella choir “UnCHORekt”. “People call us practically every week and want to sing with us,” says choir director Christoph Weßkamp. “But I can’t take anyone on at the moment, we are 35 and we don’t want to get any bigger.”
Choral singing is becoming more attractive again after the severe and sometimes life-threatening cuts of the Corona period. “Things are looking up, the number of choirs is growing,” says the Secretary General of the NRW State Music Council, Robert von Zahn. Global pop stars such as Taylor Swift and Adele have certainly played a part in this. “They are role models in their clothing, lifestyle – and singing is one of them,” he says. The trend is also supported by casting shows on television.
Choirs have had difficult times
However, the approximately 50,000 choirs in Germany have also had difficult times. For years, the German Choral Association has registered declines. The reason for this: changing living conditions, different leisure behavior and demographic change – a development that is also being felt by sports clubs, the volunteer fire brigade, but also unions and political parties. “This development was accelerated by the pandemic,” says the managing director of the German Choral Association, Veronika Petzold.
According to the Bavarian Singers’ Association, almost 20 percent of singers in Bavaria have been lost as a result of Corona. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the loss of young talent due to the years without rehearsals was particularly bad, says von Zahn. “It was a fatal generational gap that could also be fatal.”
Officials see trend reversal
Now those responsible are seeing a turnaround. “We have now gained so many new choirs that we have completely made up for the Corona gap,” says the president of the Bavarian Singers’ Association, Alexander Seebacher. In North Rhine-Westphalia, only the number of all-male choirs continues to decline, while all other types of choirs, including children’s and youth choirs, are growing, explains a spokeswoman for the state music council there. A lot of the pop repertoire from the past 20 years is sung in polyphonic settings.
After the pandemic with its contact bans, many singers have obviously realized how valuable singing in a community is, says choir association manager Petzold. This is also reflected in the increasing membership numbers. “Perhaps we have slowly reached the bottom.”
Choir stands and falls with the leadership
A lot depends on the choir director, as Nuremberg choir singer Anna Geck confirms. She joined the choir during the pandemic because she was longing for a hobby. During the period when rehearsals were banned, choir director Labus then motivated everyone to “do it online.” Later, they met outside to rehearse under a bridge, keeping a distance of one meter.
But the pandemic has also left a gap among choir conductors. These are often freelance artists, explains Petzold. During the pandemic, many were looking for new jobs and are now missing.
Many choir director positions vacant
According to the State Music Council, around one in ten choir director positions in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state in Germany, is currently vacant. Despite subsidies of more than 50 percent for the training costs of amateur choir directors, too few musicians are being trained, says von Zahn.
Almost two-thirds of employees in the music industry have “hybrid employment relationships,” meaning they need a second job to make ends meet. “There’s simply no time for a lengthy choir conductor training course.”
Growth especially in cities
The choir landscape has grown in the cities. It has become “differentiated to an astonishing degree,” says Friedhelm Brusniak, president of the Franconian Singers’ Association – everything from college and jazz choirs to barbershop singing and heavy metal choirs is represented.
In rural areas, however, things are somewhat different, says Seebacher. There is often only one choir there, and if the age structure or musical direction does not fit, it is difficult to find new members.
Trend towards pop
When it comes to repertoire, the trend is clearly towards popular music. “What is in the media is of course also very present in the choirs,” says Petzold. Rock, pop, jazz – there is endless demand for these, says Seebacher. The Desirenen choir’s repertoire includes Adele, Oasis, Eurythmics and Fugees, for example. One of the Essen choir’s successful pieces is Herbert Grönemeyer’s “Flugzeuge im Bauch”.
And the choir community doesn’t end with the last note. “We all get on really well,” says Iris Thumann from the Nuremberg Women’s Choir. That’s why every rehearsal ends with a get-together.
