The 8th International Choral Biennale will take place in Aachen and the region from June 13 to 23, 2025. Award-winning choirs from Aachen will perform together with top international ensembles, professional ensembles such as the Aachen Opera Choir and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne as well as children's, youth, senior, church and club choirs. Choral symphonic performances with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra are dedicated to a bombastic work of choral literature. Lunch concerts provide magical moments at lunchtime, satellite concerts and the "Evening of the StädteRegion" provide a glimpse into the region and the "Long Choir Night" with the midnight "Farewell" in front of the town hall brings together more than 70 choirs from all over the region. The singers bring the whole city to life for two weeks. All under the guiding motto "Imagine...".
The artistic directors are the conductors Georg Hage (BachVokal), Johannes Honecker (Madrigalchor Aachen), Harald Nickoll (Carmina Mundi), Martin te Laak (Aachen Chamber Choir), Prof. Fritz ter Wey (Der Junge Chor Aachen) and General Music Director Christopher Ward (Theater Aachen).
"A wonderful melange that moves the whole city"
"The Chorbiennale is an extremely diverse synthesis of the arts and a very special event for the city of Aachen. The festival has reorganized itself and, with the participation of Aachen's amateur choirs and professional guests, offers a wonderful blend that moves the whole city," says Heinrich Brötz, Aachen's Alderman for Education, Youth and Culture, looking forward to the major vocal event.
Festival director Maximilian Stössel emphasizes: "The Chorbiennale connects people across age, background and national borders. That's why I'm really looking forward to the festival and the regional and international encounters". We are still looking for host families for the singers, particularly from Latvia and the USA, who will take in one or two singers for between three and seven days. "In return, there is a festival pass as a gift, which allows you to attend all eight paid concerts. On the other hand, as part of an international Chorbiennale-WG, you can get in close contact with the top-class guest choirs," emphasizes Maximilian Stössel. Anyone interested can contact the Chorbiennale sponsors' association at www.chorbiennale-freunde.de.
"Imagine..."
The motto of the Chorbiennale 2025 is "Imagine..." - where one or the other continuation of the lyrics of John Lennon's ballad might come to mind. "The title also reminded us of the European anthem, "All men become brothers". The choral symphonic concert by Theater Aachen with Paul McCartney's 'Liverpool Oratorio' also fits in with this," explains Harald Nickoll, choirmaster of Carmina Mundi Aachen and member of the artistic direction.
Further highlights in the festival calendar are the four major international choir concerts: on June 13 in St. Jakob with the "Mikroskomos" choir from France and the Aachen Madrigal Choir, on June 15 in the Citykirche St. Nikolaus with the Delaware Choral Scholars (USA) and the Aachen Chamber Choir, on June 17 in the Citykirche with the choir "Sola" (Latvia) and the Aachen Young Choir and on June 18 in the Aula Carolina with the choir "Allmänna Sången" (Sweden) and Carmina Mundi. In addition, the Aachen Symphonic Choir will sing the "Missa in A" by César Franck on June 14 in the Citykirche, where the WDR Radio Choir will also present a tango mass on June 19, and on June 20 the ensembles "Flow" and "Vocal Journey" will perform the big pop choir evening in Theater Aachen. The opening concert of the Long Choir Night on June 21 will be performed jointly by Carmina Viva (Belgium) and BachVokal.
A top-class program
The 8th International Chorbiennale Aachen is organized by the Kulturbetrieb Aachen and the Stadttheater Aachen/Musikdirektion, supported by public funds and the Friends of the Chorbiennale, financed by foundations, corporate and private sponsoring and made possible by the active help of the participating choirs. The initiative choirs, festival management, Friends of the Chorbiennale, the General Music Director and the city's culture department have put together a top-class and varied program that brings together regional and international choirs over ten intensive days.
Despite reduced funding, the eighth Chorbiennale is taking place this year. Support is therefore needed more than ever. You can support the festival, for example, by purchasing and wearing the new Chorbiennale button, which will be available from Wednesday, April 9, at the box offices in Theater Aachen, the Centre Charlemagne, the Couven Museum, the Ludwig Forum Aachen and the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum. With just two euros, you can set a sign of solidarity and identification with the Chorbiennale 2025.
Information at www.chorbiennale.de