History of the Choir | GACC e.V.-Voices | Activities and Travels | Become a Member

The German-American Community Choir e.V. was founded in 1973 by the U.S. Military in Frankfurt. The aim was and is of strengthen and deepen international relationships via a common love of music. After the withdrawal of the U.S. Military in 1995, the choir was reorganized and is now a registered, non-profit organization. The choir currently has approximately 180 active members, including Germans, Americans and members of several other nations.

Since it was founded, the choir has performed several concerts ever year. Amongst the highlights was the participation in a film about Bach's "St. John's Passion" under the direction of Hugo Niebelung and several recordings including Purcell's "The Fairy Queen", "The Celestial Country" by Charles Ives, "Judas Maccabaeus" by Haendel, "Mass" by Bernstein and the "Caribbean Mass" by Glenn McClure for the Hessen Rundfunk. The performance of the Bernstein Mass was the first in the Frankfurt area and only the second ever in Germany, while the performance of the Caribbean Mass was a European premiere.

In 1999, the choir had its first performance abroad in the American Church in Paris. Since then, it has performed the "Caribbean Mass" in 2005 in Siena and in spring 2007, the GACC e.V. took Haydn's "Creation" to Hanoi and Saigon in Vietnam.

The GACC e.V. usually presents its broad musical repertoire in three concerts a year: the spring concert, which is dedicated to classical music, the autumn performance, which offers contemporary music and lastly, the Christmas concert series. This is the choir's best known event and its trademark, the "Singing Christmas Tree," in which the choir presents German and American Christmas carols and songs each year on the second weekend of Advent and which never fails to draw a large audience. Additionally, the choir sings Christmas carols at the annual Christmas Market on the Frankfurt Römer square.

Apart from the rehearsals and preparation for concerts, the choir offers several possibilities for meeting new people. Such occasions include the choir retreats in spring and autumn, the "bring parties" (pot lucks) and other activities, or by volunteering as a member of the several highly committed teams involved in the organization of the choir and its activities.

Linda Horowitz originally conducted the GACC e.V. from 1989 through 1992. In 1998 she once again became the choir's Musical Director. Jim Schar has been the choir's accompanist and assistant conductor since 1983.