After the pandemic subsided, we all developed a "ravenous appetite" for choir concerts - and a festival is a very good motivation and an attractive goal to get out of isolation and back into cultural life with one's choir.
It had to be postponed for a year, but over the long weekend in mid June, about 520 participants from 19 choirs and two music ensembles (an orchestra and a big band) finally came to Munich to the Alte Kongresshalle for the 14th South German gay-lesbian queer choir and music festival. The festival takes place every two years in a different southern German city and under a different name. In Munich the festival is called MONACCORD.
The organising team in Munich (almost the same team that organised the Various Voices Festival 2018) was very proud that all choirs from southern Germany and two guest choirs from Switzerland actually took part in this festival, which is a novelty. In addition, the first Munich trans* choir was also there, making their first public appearance: the Queerilla Singers.
On three evenings, the following choirs presented their diverse programmes in front of a packed concert hall and earned great applause:
DonnAcappella // Groove Sistaz (women's big band) // Liederliche Lesben // Lilamunde // Die Mainsirenen // Melodiva // Musica Lesbiana // Philhomoniker // Queerbeet-Chor // Queerilla Singers // Rainbow Sound Orchestra // Regenbogenchor // RosaKehlchen // Rosa Note // Saarbrücken gemischt hoch zwei // Die Schrillmänner // Die Trällerpfeifen // Die Uferlosen // Die WEIBrations and the two guest choirs from Bern: Schwubs // Sweet and Power.
In addition, they also presented themselves to the public on two afternoons on a specially erected stage in the pedestrian zone in free open air concerts.
The big party on Saturday evening after the last concert in the foyer of the Alte Kongresshalle was also a great success - but not the end. That took place on Sunday morning, when six choirs presented their contributions for the future festival anthem in an ESC-like competition. There were contributions from previous festivals but also three new compositions. After an exciting count, the prize went to the Nuremberg choir "Die Trällerpfeifen", who together with the Karlsruhe choir "Die WEIBrations" presented the song by Hans Leinberger "SING".
It should not go unmentioned that the City of Munich has once again generously supported this festival financially - as she did in 2018 for Various Voices: the usual fee for participants could therefore be halved.
And last but definetely not least, we and munichkyivqueer would also like to thank you for your willingness to donate. In total, almost 4000 euros came together on the festival weekend! This is a great sum with which we can support Ukrainian refugees in Munich and the LGBTIQ* community in Ukraine.
Thank you very much for that!
MONACCORD REPORT in German and English