Kieler Knabenchor

In the artist's words:

The Kiel Boys' Choir was founded in 1968 as a school choir at the Ernst-Barlach-Gymnasium in Kiel and has continuously developed into an independent and renowned cultural institution in Kiel over the past 50 years. The choir sees itself as a cultural ambassador for the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the state capital of Kiel. A whole series of cooperation projects with various boys' choirs both within and outside Germany attest to this guiding principle. As the northernmost member of the German-speaking "boys' choir family", the young singers and their choirmaster continue to cultivate the boys' choir tradition and make their contribution to preserving the "cultural asset of the boys' choir".

Unlike many other boys' choirs, the Kiel Boys' Choir is not a cultural institution under its own auspices or an institution of the church, but a cross-school working group of all Kiel schools. Supported by the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the state capital of Kiel and its sponsoring association, the Kiel Boys' Choir regularly organizes concerts, concert tours and church services, goes on camps and organizes joint activities for its choir members. Through a traditional cooperation with Kiel's main church, St. Nikolai, where the boys' choir sings most of its performances and is a regular guest at church services, a large part of its repertoire comprises sacred choral music.

After joining the junior choir, the young singers undergo basic training before moving on to the concert choir, usually in the third grade. There they take part in twice-weekly choir rehearsals and receive individual voice training. In addition to singing together, the community and cross-age interaction play a decisive role in the young singers' everyday lives. In addition to the one or other lasting friendship, the choir members also take away valuable foundations for their later life from their time in the boys' choir when they leave the Kiel Boys' Choir after an average of twelve years, usually at the beginning of their studies outside Kiel.

For further information on the work of the Kiel Boys' Choir, its work with young talent, the sponsoring association and the next performance dates, please visit the homepage www.kieler-knabenchor.de