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 * ConcertsMenu Toggle
   * Upcoming concerts & projects
   * Past concerts & projects
 * Join Us
 * Choir
 * Musical Director
 * Contact


Main Menu
 * ConcertsMenu Toggle
   * Upcoming concerts & projects
   * Past concerts & projects
 * Join Us
 * Choir
 * Musical Director
 * Contact


GERMAN CHOIR TRADITION IN CENTRAL LONDON



The German Choir of London, founded in 2009, has established itself as one of
London’s leading amateur choirs. In a sociable, friendly atmosphere, we perfect
classical German choral masterpieces such as Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Brahms’
German Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana, as well as contemporary music and
commissioned pieces of composers around the globe. Rehearsals are in German. The
choir has performed in some amazing venues around London, Paris, Brussels and
Rome. Our projects often involve collaborations with cultural institutions and
explore topics and themes of social or historical importance – we make music
with a meaning. 


COMING UP


SUMMER CONCERT: FOOD SONGS FROM EDENROTH TO STRAUSS



The all-singing, all-dancing chefs, waiters and waitresses of the German Choir
of London invite you to an afternoon sampling a gloriously beautiful menu of
food songs in English and German.

Following the success of our sold out 2023 concert A Grand Night for Singing, we
return to the intimate setting of Upstairs at the Gatehouse: a small theatre
located above the Gatehouse pub in Highgate.

Featuring costumes, lighting and a mixture of accompanied, acapella, full choir
pieces and solo ensembles, it is an event not to be missed!

BOOK TICKETS



FUTURE EVENTS

4th November: Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral

6th December: Christmas Concert, Christ Church, Brixton Road

14th December: Carol Service at Christ Church, Brixton Road

Sing with Us

PAST CONCERTS AND PROJECTS


JOIN US

We rehearse on Tuesdays from 7 pm to 9.30 pm …

… at the Deutsche Ev. Christuskirche, Knightsbridge.

Come along to our rehearsals for a few weeks to see if we are the right choir
for you.

We are an amateur choir working to a high standard. Our rehearsals are in
German. After a number of rehearsals we invite interested singers to an informal
audition with our Musical Director Barbara Höfling. During our rehearsals we
focus on expression, language and historically sensitive interpretation.

We give our members the opportunity to develop their vocal strengths and skills
through vocal training sessions run by Barbara Höfling and guest coaches. For
members interested in solo performances and greater exposure, we run solo
ensembles.

The choir provides members with a friendly social circle. Over the years, many
friendships have been formed and the odd couples too. After rehearsals, you can
find several members making their way to the pub to socialise. We have a lot of
fun!

We sometimes take trips abroad for performances or social choir retreats.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Contact us now to join



THE CHOIR


IN THE BEGINNING

In 2009, a small group of music enthusiasts started coming together regularly to
sing at services of the Deutsche Ev. Christuskirche in Knightsbridge. On the
initiative of Barbara Höfling, this group became a permanent ensemble.  

Over ten years on, we are a diverse, international choir of around 60 singers,
with a wide-ranging repertoire and a busy performance schedule. The choir has
attracted the attention of both German and UK television and has been featured
in the musical press.


WHAT WE SING

The German choral masterpieces of the 17th to late 19th centuries (Schütz, Bach,
Haydn, Brahms, Mendelssohn and many more) form the heart of our repertoire. We
also perform classical choral music from outside the Austro-German tradition
including British, Italian and US composers. 

Contemporary music is an important part of what we do. We regularly perform new
works, some of them specially commissioned for us.

We have a long tradition of collaboration with other choirs and ensembles for
our CDs, concerts and services. They include the choirs of King’s College
Cambridge and St-Martin-in-the-Fields, the German Choir Paris, the UK Parliament
Choir, Canterbury Cathedral Choir, Coventry Cathedral Choir, and the choirs of
many of the different Lutheran congregations in London for the 500th anniversary
of the Reformation in 2017.


MAKING MUSIC WITH A MEANING

With inventiveness and drive, Barbara Höfling ensures that we don’t simply
perform pieces in isolation – beautiful as they may be – but that we use music
to make our audience think about topics and events of social and historic
importance. We regularly raise funds for charity as well as awareness of issues
we care about. Some of our past projects are:

Blessed are the Peacemakers: For the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day in 2018,
we went on a tour of ten cathedrals around the UK and travelled to Ypres and
Brussels to sing war poetry set to music by Orlando Gough. Under the title
“Blessed are the Peacemakers” we commemorated those who worked for peace in
times of war.

A European celebration: As the UK prepared to leave the European Union in 2019,
we celebrated the power of music to cross borders by staging a concert featuring
28 pieces in many of the European languages.

Corona Commissions: As the Corona virus hit the UK, we fundraised to commission
10 composers who had their livelihood threatened by the pandemic to write new
choral pieces for us. Eight Corona Commissions are on the topic of fear, as well
as arrangements of two German Christmas carols. 

Voices against Violence: During COVID-related lockdowns, domestic violence
increased in the UK. We used our voices to produce an awareness clip for social
media, in collaboration with composer Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, producer Aaron
Trinder, and professionals working with victims of domestic violence. This
initiative was commissioned by the German Embassy London and Goethe Institute
London.

Voices.Europe: With challenges such as isolation, restrictions on movement, and
social distancing requirements in mind, Michael Langemann has created his
Voices.Europe composition as a sound event consisting of five modules in various
languages. Over 180 singers from amateur choirs from Rome, London, and Paris
recorded this cooperation between the Goethe-Institut London, Paris, Rome and
the Ars.Electronica Festival.

Sophie Scholl Passion: The concert told the story of Sophie Scholl, confined in
Stadelheim Prison, Munich in the period before her death, through an original
libretto created by playwright Ross McGregor, by combining letters, newspaper
articles, the White Rose leaflets and court protocols with the music of J.S.
Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. This new interpretation was performed with the
German Choir of London and Coventry Cathedral Choir in Southwark Cathedral and
Coventry Cathedral. A centenary later we remember that the courage of Sophie
Scholl and her fellow conspirators is an inspiration through time, a reminder
that fighting injustice, fighting against systems which are wrong, even against
the greatest odds, is truly a message of our time.


WHERE WE SING

The diversity of our performance venues is something we are proud of.

Undoubtedly, we reached the pinnacle of grandeur in terms of performance venues
when we sang during Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in 2021 –
a true honour.

We have also taken part in services at St Paul’s Cathedral,
St-Martin-in-the-Fields, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, and Westminster
Abbey, as well as performing in a number of beautiful London churches and in the
Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Trips abroad have taken us to Notre-Dame
Cathedral in Paris, Brussels Cathedral, to Ypres and Conques. 

The choir retains a strong link with its place of origin, the Deutsche Ev.
Christuskirche in Knightsbridge. We sing at a couple of church services during
the year, as well as rehearsing there. 


THE MUSICAL DIRECTOR: BARBARA HÖFLING

I believe in the power of music to move people, to create communities beyond
perceived borders, to create a better world in the here and now. Music speaks to
us in our own language, in our own emotion and this with a clarity and urgency
that reaches beyond words. To create a group in harmony, teach them to sing!

I studied violin, singing and conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater
in Hanover. I soon after discovered my passion for choral music. I sang with
some of the most amazing choirs and ensembles in the world: RIAS Chamber Choir,
BBC Singers, Berlin Radio Choir, Hamburg Radio Choir, Monteverdi Choir, London
Voices to name just a few. The experience I gained from that is what I love
passing on to singers in my choirs, but also virtually all over the world.

I believe that choral work should be a healthy mixture of voice technique,
historically informed work on the repertoire and tons of fun. Because in the end
it’s the fun that will give not just us performers but also the audience a good
time.

www.barbara-hoefling.de


CONTACT US

Send us an email

info@deutscherchorlondon.org.uk

Deutsche Ev. Christuskirche
18 Montpelier Place
London
SW7 1HJ

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