CHORALLE 2026 – Festival of the Voice and State Choir Competition

Festival of the Voice and Competition Combined

CHORALLE is a hybrid: a vibrant choir festival with encounters, workshops, and communal singing – and at the same time, the official State Choir Competition for the two federal states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. This makes it the most important platform for ambitious choirs in Northern Germany, at the club, university, and professional choir levels. The 2026 edition takes place on the first weekend of November.

Competitive Singing and Recommendation for the German Choir Competition

In the competitive singing sessions, participating choirs perform before expert juries who award predicates (ranging from "well done" to "very good" to "outstanding"). The best ensembles in each category will be recommended for the next German Choir Competition – the largest German choir competition, held every four years. Thus, CHORALLE serves as a direct springboard to a supra-regional level.

Categories for All Voice Types and Age Groups

The competition program covers the entire spectrum: children's choirs, youth choirs, women's, men's, and mixed choirs, plus vocal ensembles of all styles (classical, pop, jazz, new music). This breadth is a Hamburg specialty: the Hanseatic city boasts one of Germany's densest choir infrastructures with the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (HfMT), the main church choirs (Bach-Chor zu St. Michaelis, St.-Petri-Chor, St.-Jacobi-Kantorei), and the NDR Choir.

Special Prizes: Workshop with the NDR Vocal Ensemble

Beyond awarding predicates, attractive special prizes await the participating choirs: workshop days with singers from the NDR Vocal Ensemble, sheet music vouchers from publishers, and cash prizes. The focus is clearly on supporting talent and ambitious amateur choirs.

Exchange Formats – Not Just a Competition

In addition to the competition, CHORALLE emphasizes exchange formats: joint singing evenings, workshops with choir directors, and forums for encounters between ensembles from Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. The festival consciously distinguishes itself from purely competition-focused formats and strengthens the regional choir community.

Around Mittelweg, Harvestehude

The venues are spread around Mittelweg in Harvestehude – including churches, concert halls, and the forum of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. Harvestehude (Eimsbüttel district) is one of Hamburg's most traditional and musically dense neighborhoods, home to the HfMT, the Curiohaus, and several historical main church branches. The federal state of Hamburg meets the neighboring federal state of Schleswig-Holstein here in a joint musical project.