Choirs wanted: Vielstimmig III – Bringing the Humboldt Forum to life on April 18 and 19, 2026
Choirs will sing their repertoire in exhibitions and perform new pieces together in the large foyer: After two successful editions, the third edition of the Vielstimmig festival with choirs from Berlin will take place at the Humboldt Forum in April 2026.
What is it like to sing surrounded by houses from Oceania? How does it feel to sing in front of the centuries-old mural “The Buddha’s Sermon” by Chinese court painter Ding Guangpeng? How does the large foyer sound when a choral work resounds from all sides?
The Humboldt Forum, together with the Berlin Choir Association, is looking for ten Berlin choirs who will get to know the entire building as a “sound space” in spring 2026, meet for several rehearsal weekends, and sing throughout the building on April 18 and 19.
Thematically, the 2026 festival is inspired by the Humboldt Forum’s annual theme: “Beziehungsweise: Familie” (Relationships: Family). Whether a haven of peace and security or a breeding ground for conflict and trauma, family touches everyone and leaves no one indifferent. The third edition of Vielstimmig musically illuminates the changing web of relationships that the complex system of family triggers in us humans – even if only through its absence. We are looking for songs about the nuclear family, family celebrations, and patchwork families: the repertoire of compositions dedicated to this complex of themes seems endless. The Humboldt Forum invites interested choirs to explore this theme and express themselves individually. We warmly invite you to a melodious, polyphonic, and unifying choir weekend!
We are looking for ten Berlin choirs representing as wide a variety of genres and line-ups as possible. We invite you to engage in a mutual exchange and explore the Berlin Palace and the annual theme “beziehungsweise: Familie” (relationships: family) through music. The project consists of two concert days on the weekend of April 18 and 19, as well as joint rehearsals on site at the Humboldt Forum, including in the public areas of the Humboldt Forum – see schedule.
In addition to these public rehearsals, a second, central part of the rehearsal work will be the development of three joint works with all participating choirs under the artistic direction of Anna-Lena Bolz. These pieces will then be performed several times in the large foyer on the final weekend.
Are you interested? Do you have a passion for singing and the time needed to participate in the project? Do you sing a cappella, would you like to network with other choirs, think beyond the boundaries of your own genre and repertoire, and get to know this special venue in all its diversity? Then get in touch with us by September 29, 2025, and we will be happy to provide you with further information. An expense allowance is provided for the participating choirs.
Join us in bringing the Humboldt Forum to life with song!
Vielstimmig III – Rehearsal schedule
Anfang Dezember 2025
Early December 2025
Meeting with choir directors: inspection of performance venues
January 17–18, 2026
Kick-off meeting of all choirs at the HUF and first rehearsals at the Humboldt Forum
March 14–15, 2026
Rehearsals at the Humboldt Forum
April 13, 2026
Main rehearsal at the Humboldt Forum
April 16, 2026
Dress rehearsal at the Humboldt Forum
April 18/19, 2026
Final event weekend VIELSTIMMIG III
Registration until September 29, 2025
Artistic director: Anna-Lena Bolz
Dramaturgy & moderation: Kaspar v. Erffa
Artistic coordination: Hannah Ginsburg
For registration and questions, please contact the CVB office at [email protected].
Participants
The singer, choir director and arranger Anna-Lena Bolz studied singing in the jazz/rock/pop program at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden. During her studies, she was part of the folk band “Miss O’Paque” as a singer and songwriter and worked together with guitarist and composer Freya Arde. In 2015, the band released their debut album “The Small Things”.
In 2012, Anna-Lena Bolz took over the management of the OFFTRACKS Festival in Dresden, which brings music to unusual places and combines it with different art genres such as dance, painting, theater and film. After moving to Berlin, she founded the “Feature Chor Berlin” in 2018, with which she has already performed with Alice Phoebe Lou in front of a sold-out Funkhaus and in Berlin’s Columbiahalle. In 2023, she performed with the choir at the Kammermusiksaal Berlin with other choirs as part of the Berlin Choir Association’s Sunday concert series.
Since 2022, Anna-Lena and her colleagues have been organizing and curating the be kind festival in the brewhouse of the Alte Berliner Kindl brewery, which is dedicated to contemporary music in the Berlin scene. In her work, Anna-Lena Bolz is committed to empowering structures and also sees music as an important space for thinking and experimentation for social interaction.
Kaspar von Erffa studied acting and directing at the Salzburg ‘Mozarteum’ and was assistant director at the Burgtheater Vienna, working with Jürgen Flimm, Peter Zadek and Claus Peymann, among others. He has been a freelance director and screenwriter since 1996. In 2008 he founded the Höfische Festspiele Potsdam, in 2016 the Integration Theater of the University of Potsdam. He has directed the Inselbühne Potsdam since 2021. He is a tenor and has been singing in the choir for 46 years.
Like Anna-Lena Bolz, Hannah Ginsburg also studied singing and vocal pedagogy jazz/rock/pop at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden. She lived out her passion for singing for over 10 years as a member of the “Wortart Ensemble”, with whom she performed and gave workshops throughout Germany. The “Wortart Ensemble” has won prizes at numerous renowned competitions and stands for individual, unique a cappella singing.
In 2012, Hannah Ginsburg founded the singing school SING DICH GLÜCKLICH, where she pursues her passion for music as a singing teacher and educator and combines it with her organizational skills. She has completed further training in the Lichtenberger® Method and ESTILL Voice Training®. In her teaching activities, Hannah Ginsburg benefits from her many years of experience as an actress in front of the camera (ZDF, RTL, Arte) and on stage (e.g. Volksbühne Berlin), which above all characterizes her work with language and acting and significantly expands her teaching skills.
In addition to her work at SING DICH GLÜCKLICH, Hannah Ginsburg is a much sought-after lecturer, for example at the “Belcantare Brandenburg” project, which is dedicated to promoting singing in children, at the “Cantarale” youth choir meeting in Brandenburg/Havel and at the Federal Association of Music Teaching in Brandenburg.
Partners
A collaboration with the Berlin Choir Association
The Berlin Choir Association (Chorverband Berlin e.V.) is the largest amateur music organisation in the capital and the most important forum for Berlin’s amateur choir scene.
With its diverse activities, it works intensively as a professional association, event organiser and funding body to promote grassroots, popular and youth work, creating the necessary conditions for excellence within its own ranks.
