1. Mannheimer Chorfestival

In the organizer's words:

Be there when the 1st Mannheim Choir Festival shakes the venerable dome of the Capitol! The Celebration Gospel Choir from Mannheim, the Heidelberg Jazz Choir and the "NoNames" choir from Ludwigshafen will really get the place rocking. Each choir will present a best of from their current program, but you can also expect joint pieces, which the choirs will present together in concentrated vocal power. Fasten your seatbelts and join us!

Celebration Gospel Choir
The Celebration Gospel Choir means "singing with passion". The Mannheim choir with its approx. 45 singers stands for rousing concerts and sophisticated arrangements. The joy of rhythm, a shared sound and the power of the ensemble's voices blending together make it easy for the listener to immerse themselves in the spirituality of the songs.
The choir has been under the direction of Anne Westrich since 1991 and inspires with innovative concert programs: An a cappella program "Africa to America", a jazz evening in collaboration with the LA-Reed-Bigband from Lampertheim ("Sing Sing Swing") or the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Capitol in Mannheim, where the choir was on stage in 2025, are all part of the choir's wide-ranging repertoire. However, "Händel Messiah - A Soulful Celebration", an adaptation of G. F. Händel's Messiah in jazz, soul and gospel style, which the Celebration Gospel Choir will perform at the Capitol in spring 2026, stands out in particular.

Heidelberg Jazz Choir
When a few music enthusiasts in Heidelberg came up with the idea of trying out jazz in a choir in 1986, you could probably count such initiatives in Germany on one hand. In 2026, the Heidelberg Jazz Choir is now celebrating its 40th anniversary, and jazz-loving singers still meet every week to rehearse together and indulge in cool rhythms, tricky chords or wild scat songs. The choirmaster has changed from time to time, but Joachim Berenbold took over the choir in 1997 and has led it ever since. Stylistically, the choir focuses on variety, from swing to Latin, jazz rock and modern jazz to funk, but there may also be the odd pop number. The Heidelberg Jazz Choir usually performs with band accompaniment, but also a cappella or sometimes with a rock or big band. In its many concerts, the Heidelberg Jazz Choir has repeatedly collaborated with musicians and formations from the region, such as the trumpeter Thomas Siffling and his trio, the singer Nicole Metzger, the Freddy Wonder Combo, Dirik Schilgen's Trio Brazil, the pianist Volker Engelberth, the Galapagos and the SRH Bigband and many more.

NoNames from Ludwigshafen
The choir "NoNames" was initially founded in 1999 as a project choir and currently consists of 35 members. Because they couldn't think of a suitable name, they simply called themselves "NoNames" at first. But how time flies: after more than 25 years, the name of the groovy troupe from Ludwigshafen has not changed and the choir without a name has made a name for itself in the Rhine-Neckar region.
The NoNames perform pieces from a wide variety of styles (pop, gospel, soul, musical, jazz, classical) that you don't normally hear from a choir. In mostly original, groovy and sophisticated arrangements from the pen of their choirmaster Dieter Scheithe and thanks to a number of choral soloists, they give each individual piece its very own timbre.
Under the direction of the Mannheim native, the "NoNames" have already realized a whole range of different concert programs, whether a cappella, with piano, a groovy band or a full symphony orchestra, whatever you like is allowed and the boys and girls from Ludwigshafen have no fear of musical contact anyway.
In 2023, they won first place in the "Jazz and Pop Choir" category at the Rhine-Neckar Choir Competition in Luisenpark.

Organizer: Capitol Betriebs GmbH

*VRN combi-ticket valid for this event:
Period of validity
2 journeys, one there and one back, for one person on the day of the event until 3 a.m. on the following day (please note the information on the combined ticket)

Area of validity
valid in the entire VRN network area in all buses and trains (DB: RE, RB and S-Bahn) in 2nd class and in the transition areas to the neighboring KVV and HNV networks

Price information:

*VRN combined ticket included