German Choirs of Fredericksburg, TX

  Caroling time has come again ...

Zion Lutheran Church invited us to sing at their Sanctuary again. Last Sunday, our second concert at Zion took place. The video included below was shared by the Zion media team. Thank you guys! Songs presented during the concert: Sängergruß - singers' greeting, Abendchor, Gut Nacht, O Du schöner Westerwald, Lieder, die von Herzen kommen, Wenn die Heckenrosen wieder blühen, Die Wacht am Rhein, Lied unser Band, Das Morgenrot, Welch ein treuer Freund ist Jesus, Danke Schön und Auf Wiederseh'n.

In the previous post, we started our history notes related to the early Sängerfest events in Texas. Today, we write about the festivals that took place after the Civil War time (in the years 18870-1881) Read our notes and the included newspaper clippings. Find the answers to these questions: In which years did the choir of Fredericksburg participate in Sängerfest? When did an orchestra become part of the Sängerfest program? How much was the St. Louis orchestra paid? When did the tradition of the masschoirs start? Is there your ancestral name listed among the 1879 Sängerfest participants? How many days did the 1881 Sängerfest celebrations last? Which mean of transportation helped most Sängerfest participants get to Galveston in 1881? What was the downside of the mass event in that year?     ♪ September 1870 - the 8th Sängerfest took place in San Antonio (originally was planned in New Braunfels). German singing societies who participated in the event who came Austi...

The Choirs are enjoying the summer break. In the meantime, a recollection of this year's Maifest. "The Yellow Rose of Texas" is one of Texas traditional favorites and also one of very few songs that the Choirs sing in English. The song dates back to the 1850s.

  March 8th, 2024 We were honored to be part of the celebrations marking the 175th anniversary of Fort Martin Scott .   As you can here in the recordings, it was a very windy evening.   After the event, the Choirs' received this kind thank you note: "Please pass along our thanks to everyone in the choirs who were part of this afternoon's ceremony and this evening's concert.  They did a tremendous job.  We always enjoy hearing the German choirs, as it reminds us of the lovely years we spent in Germany.  Your concert prior to the start of the ceremony itself helped tie the fort to the local community that was established here by the time the soldiers arrived.  And your rendition of the German anthem at the beginning of the Army Band's concert was a great reminder that those German settlers still cherished their own heritage. Thank you, in particular, for facilitating the participation of the choirs.  Without your help, this probably wouldn't have h...

Ms. Amy Voorhees. our Music Director, had a solo performance at St. Mary's last Sunday. The concert (entitled  "Music is My Prayer") was part of the Sacred Music series presented at the church. We are so proud to have Ms. Amy as our music Instructor! Parts of the concert Soprano: Amy Voorhees, Violin: Tim Carder, Piano and organ: Luciano Laurentiu.

 November 9 The Choirs sang at the Pedernales Creative Art Alliance meeting. We were also invited to the dinner, which took place afterward. PCAA has been our ongoing supporter for many years.  Our big thank you to the PCAA members for their kind and continuing assistance!

Our big thank you to all who came to listen to our songs on Saturday during Oktoberfest. It is always nice to feel your support!

September 25  The choirs were invited to the Heritage Assisted Living in Fredericksburg, TX, by the members of its German Club. We all enjoyed the gathering and the sing-along time. Our thank you to the German Club for the invitation!      Mr. Larry Kuhlken led the Choirs' program

Saturday, September 23 - the Choirs sang at the annual Sängerfest in New Braunfels, Texas. It was fun! Next year, the event will be hosted by the German Choirs in Fredericksburg! Photo shared by Mr. Dieter K

The German Choirs of Fredericksburg TX gave their respectful farewell to Ms. Lillian M. Meurer, a past member of Gemischter Chor, who had sung with the group for 50 years. The Mass of Resurrection took place on Friday, September 15, at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Thank you, Ms. Lillian. God bless your soul. 

After the summer break, the Choirs started another singing year last Thursday.  Welcome back to the new and "old" singers! We are going to participate in the 131st Texanischer Gerbirgs Sängerfest which takes place in New Braunfels, Texas, on September 23.  This year's Sängerfest venue: McKenna Events Center, Lone Star Room, 801 W San Antonio St. New Braunfels, Texas 78130. Anyhow, new songs are being practiced. In the meantime, on our blog, another song from the last Maifest: "Was noch frisch und jung an Jahren"/ Gustav Gunsenheimer.

 The song " Der fröhliche Wanderer ", known also as " Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann ", is believed to be a German folk lied, but it actually is not. Well, at least not exactly. The lyrics were written by Florenz Friedrich Sigismund (b. 1791 in Schwarzburg/d. 1877 in Blankenburg) and later adapted to more modern needs by Edith Möller. The current song tune was composed by Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller not long after WW2. In 1953/54, the song was a hit on BBC radio. "Der fröhliche Wanderer" has been translated into many languages, but we believe it sounds best in the original German version. The song is also part of the German Choirs' repertoire .

 After a well deserved break, the Choirs restart their practice meetings on February 9.

The Choirs closed the Singing Season 2022 on December 19, 2022. Here is the year in review New singers Violet , Ron , and Chris joined the Choirs. We are so pleased you sing with us! The Choirs performed at:  a funeral service 3/18 at the Holy Ghost Lutheran Church, Van der Stucken Festival 04/02,  Maifest,  Fredericksburg Anniversary Ceremony 05/06, Sängerfest in San Antonio 09/24,   Oktoberfest 10/01, Herbfest 11/6, Golden Hub 12/16, Villages of Windcrest 12/19. The number of followers of our new Instagram page has been growing. Right now, it is 95 individuals and choirs from all over the world. A new Facebook page was created on March 3. Credits Sängerfest photo by Ms. Loretta Schmidt, Oktoberfest photo provided by Susi Woitalla Pharmakis .