Around 100 young people experience “Circlesinging” and a special feeling of sound
Around 100 young people gathered at the 2025 Youth Choir Day under the motto "Live is a Circle" at St. Paul's Church in Darmstadt. The young singers from children's and youth choirs of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) formed a large choir and participated in workshops exploring the method of circle singing – a form of improvisation in which short motifs are repeated in groups, creating polyphonic sound circles.
Enthusiasm about singing together
Participants came from choirs in Viernheim, Wiesbaden, Bad Nauheim, Oberursel, Gießen, and Darmstadt , along with individual singing enthusiasts from across the EKHN region. For many, it was the first time they had sung together with so many others. "It's fantastic to sing in such a large choir," Friederike (19), Stella (15), and Maie (15) all reported in unison.
Choral Evensong as a celebratory conclusion
The highlight of the day was a public Choral Evensong , in which the pieces they had worked on were performed. The program ranged from William H. Monk's "Abide with me, Lord" and Howard Goodall's "The Lord is my shepherd" to modern works like Mary Donnelly's "I have a dream." Circle singing was also introduced with Matthias Nagel's "Loopsong Gloria."
City church cantor Christian Roß was impressed: “Even during the warm-up, there was a beautiful group feeling.” He was accompanied by cantor Manuel Dahme from Frankfurt and music teacher Alexandra Ziegler-Liebst , who led the circle singing.
Organization and sponsorship
Andreas Schitt the organization on site Ursula Starke (EKHN) and Anne Langenbach (EKKW) were the overall directors, who praised the excellent preparation and teamwork. The Youth Choir Day was organized by the Choir Association of the Evangelical Church in Germany (CEK) and the Association of Protestant Choirs in Hesse and Nassau . CEK General Secretary Niklas Dörr emphasized the special experience of the "fullness of sound" created by 100 voices.
The Youth Choir Day 2025 took place simultaneously with a uniform concept at five locations in Germany – Leipzig, Munich, Hamburg, Iserlohn and Darmstadt .
