The audience was also enthusiastic right from the start, rewarding the results of the musical project work with standing ovations. With around 250 singers, the pop choir, which was open to everyone, took to the specially built stage for the first part of the concert, followed by the movie special with around 200 participants. The pop choir had to be "capped", said music school director Heinz Gassenmeier in his speech on the first evening of the concert. Now that the pop choir project launched by Tanja Raich in 2015 has grown from 95 to 300 registrations, the number of singers taking part in both projects has also increased significantly from around 10 at the beginning to around eighty. The pop choir special was first offered by Tanja Raich in 2022 in addition to her pop choir project and appeals to experienced choir singers with even fewer rehearsals. After "The Greatest Showman", Michael Jackson and Queen, this year it was well-known and lesser-known movie songs that were professionally rehearsed and convincingly presented. Due to the large overlap between the two choirs, the flexible and imaginative choir director changed the outfit for the first time this year: all the singers were dressed in the basic colors black and white and distinguished by an individual accessory - the pop choir in bright yellow and the special in glittering pink. This allowed for a smooth changeover on stage while at the same time accentuating the two different choirs. Enthusiasm on and in front of the stage, with the charismatic choir director beaming in the middle - together with her five-piece pop choir show band, as always on point. Among the guests this year was Mayor Sibylle Keupen, who was warmly welcomed on Friday evening. After the fourth concert, Tanja Raich was duly celebrated by her singers at an after-show party - and bid farewell. Because there will be no pop choir project at the Aachen Music School in 2025/26. Discussions are currently underway as to how the framework conditions for this successful project can be improved. This year, the Popchor 11.0 can look forward to an additional performance in the Coronation Hall of the Town Hall on the occasion of the visit of the Cape Town delegation in August. The program of the Movie Special will be performed once again at the September Special in Aachen.
4x full house at the depot