Total Choral — Festival for Pop and Jazz Choirs

A Scene Making Itself Visible

Pop, jazz, and gospel choirs have grown enormously in Germany over the last two decades — as an emancipatory response to the classical choral landscape, often younger, often more urban, often with their own repertoire work beyond the classical canon. The problem: this scene was organizationally fragmented for a long time. This is exactly where Total Choral 2008 comes in: a festival that brings the scene together, gives it a stage, and mobilizes an audience beyond the choirs' own performances.

Café Theater Schalotte — Festival Venue for Over 20 Years

The venue since the beginning has been the Café Theater Schalotte, a stage and concert space at Behaimstraße 22 in the Charlottenburg district (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough), just a few minutes from Charlottenburg Palace. The Schalotte is run entirely by volunteers, has a friendly hall with good acoustics for choir ensembles and a small restaurant — a perfect festival base.

2026 Edition — Extended to Ten Concert Evenings

In 2026, Total Choral will run for ten evenings for the first time instead of the previous nine: 24 choirs from the Berlin area, all of Germany, and Denmark will present their repertoire — pop cover songs, jazz arrangements, gospel, original compositions. The organizer is the association Total Choral e.V., which has been responsible for program curation since 2008.

Format: Double Concerts on Weekends, Solos During the Week

The festival is spread over several weeks in March 2026 — one choir per evening during the week, two choirs as a double concert on weekends. Individual ticket prices: €8 on Thursdays (one choir), €14 (€10 reduced) on weekends (two choirs). Tickets often sell out weeks before the concert — the festival's fan base is dedicated.

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in the District Context

Charlottenburg is part of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough in the state of Berlin and is one of West Berlin's most traditional districts. From Charlottenburg Palace to the Kurfürstendamm, there is a dense cultural infrastructure — and in the middle of it: the Schalotte as a volunteer stage with a large regular audience. Those who combine a festival evening with a walk in the palace gardens have a perfect Berlin cultural evening.