Nordöstlicher Sängerbund of America ~ Strength in Tradition • Friendship in Song ~             Home Welcome NOSB Sängerfest Tradition The Washington Sängerbund Sängerfest Conductors & Orchestra Purchase PHOTOS Host Chorus: Washington Sängerbund ~ founded 1851 ~ 2434 Wisconsin Ave, NW Washington, DC 20007 Rehearsals: Friday at 7pm The Washington Sängerbund Washington Sängerbund in 1862 click on image for larger picture Early in 1851 a few young Germans, who had previously sung with the choir of the Concordia Church, 20th & G Sts., N.W. Washington, D.C. decided to organize a German Singing Society. They were planning to participate in the Second Song Festival of the Northeastern Sängerbund, which was to be held in Baltimore, Maryland in June of 1851. The group formed and elected its first president, Julius Viedt. Following an invitation from the members, Mr. Charles Walter of Baltimore accepted the musical directorship and set the date for the first rehearsal for April 12, 1851 at the German Hall, located on 11th Street, N.W. between F & G Sts in Washington, DC. But, as it turned out, Mr. Walter was unable to attend due to inclement weather. He rescheduled another rehearsal for Wednesday, April 20,1851 at 8:30pm. This date marks the first rehearsal on record of The Washington Sängerbund. Julius Viedt First Sängerbund President The Sängerbund never went to the Song Festival in Baltimore in 1851 because the director felt that the group was not ready. In the following years, however, they began participating in the festivals of the Northeastern Sängerbund and brought home prizes and awards on several occasions. Its first success came in July of 1869 in Baltimore when it won the first prize, a grand piano which it triumphantly brought home to Washington. During its first 50 years of existence the Washington Sängerbund grew to be recognized as the stellar singing group in Washington, D.C. and along the entire Eastern seaboard. It performed at many notable occasions and before many dignitaries. The Washington Sängerbund is mentioned in the early history of the Civil War in July, 1861 when German American soldiers stood at the Great Falls on the Potomac River to guard the local water supply. One of the first two casualties was Henry Ricks, an active member of the Washington Sängerbund. And in 1865, after President Lincoln‘s death, the Washington newspaper ‘Columbia‘ carried an article on April 22 which stated, ”The Sängerbund furnished an honor guard at the head of the bier of the dead President. Suddenly the men from the Sängerbund sang through the silence ‘Gesang der Geister ueber den Wassern‘ by Franz Schubert.” By 1901, at its 50th Anniversary, the Sängerbund had a total of 3,179 members, including 398 active singers, 2,754 passive members and 27 honorary members. By 1929 bad economic conditions and prohibition caused the Washington Sängerbund to cease operations. It even lost its Sängerbund Hall at 314 C St., N.W. which it had built and moved into on December 19, 1893. But in 1934 a new singing organization by the name of the Männergesangverein Washington was founded. After three years the Männergesangverein realized that the original charter of the Washington Sängerbund was still on record, changed its name and the Washington Sängerbund was reborn. While the Sängerbund had always been a mens chorus, in 1936 the ladies decided to form their own singing society. It was to exist for almost 30 years as the Washington Sängerbund Ladies Chorus. In 1967 they joined the men to become a mixed chorus. In 1981 the Washington Sängerbund published a 200-page hard-cover book describing its first 125 years. Frank H. Pierce III wrote the book after he and his wife Nancy, both members of the Washington Sängerbund had done extensive research. The book is still available for purchase. The Nordoestlicher Sängerbund serves as an umbrella organization for German-American choruses in the Mid-Atlantic region. As a member, the Washington Sängerbund has hosted their Song Festival held every three years on different occasions: in 1961 at the Uline Arena, in 1973 at the Sheraton Park Hotel and again in 1988 at the Washington Hilton Hotel. In 1993 it also organized a National Song Festival in Washington, DC with participating choruses from as far away as Germany, the West Coast and Canada. The grand finale was an outdoor concert presented on the west steps of the Capitol with chorus and orchestra. Today the Washington Sängerbund continues its long tradition of preserving German music and German Culture in the Washington Metropolitan area with mumerous concerts and musical performances during the year, often in conjunction with other groups such as the choruses of the German School in Potomac. Its repertoire consists of music in the German language. Rehearsals are held weekly on Friday at 7pm (September to June). In addition they sponsor other social activities such as an annual ‘German Fasching-Costume Ball‘ and Oktoberfests, or play hosts to visiting choruses from Germany.