Our History

In 1969, with burgeoning men's and women's choruses, it became apparent that another chorus was needed in the Columbus German Community: A children's chorus.

Parents involved in the Columbus Maennerchor and Damenchor, and even more social members of the club  wanted a sense of German culture for their children, started this group targeted at the needs of the youth of our community. So, the Columbus Kinderchor/Jugendchor was born.

Kinderchor means "children's chorus" and Jugendchor means "youth chorus". At its height in 1983 when they toured Germany there were more than 80 children involved. Its key to success has been dedication to the children, allowing them to take responsibility for their chorus: by making plans and seeing them to fruition.

Originally members were required to have a parent or grandparent who belonged to the Columbus Maennerchor sponsor them, that is no longer the case today.  New membership rules allowing the children to be members in their own right went into effect in 2003 and we include this membership in our dues.  We believe that membership helps build a sense of belonging and ownership of the community and the sense that even children have a voice to be heard.

Currently under the direction of Katie O'Keefe, the children's repertoire is tailored to meet the needs of growing voices and a variety of skill levels. The very youngest learn German nursery rhymes that teach the concepts of opposites, numbers, times and seasons, and parts of the body. The older children learn to sing in rounds and two and three part harmony. At all levels, there is a heavy component of building German vocabulary and good musical practices.

The Columbus Kinder- and Jungendchor performs a number of times throughout the year.   Our Uniforms are German Tracht, Dirndls, and Landhaus (or German Country) Dresses.  We work hard to make sure that all our singers have access to the costumes that they need.   We have a limited number of costumes available for rental/purchase from the Columbus Kinderchor and we also will also exchange for dirndls, dresses, shirts/blouses and lederhosen, in good condition for a like item. 

Practices are every Tuesday evening August -  June.  Jungendchor  rehearsals begin at 6pm and Kinderchor begins at 6:30.  Practices generally run one half hour but we may have longer and/or more frequent practices prior to performances.

If you are interested in joining The Columbus Kinderchor, please come to one of our practices during our recruitment months of September and January. All we require is a membership form and yearly dues of $30 per year per family.  For more information, please contact Katie O’Keefe at columbuskinderchor@yahoogroups.com or columbuskinderchor@googlegroups.com.

Viva la Musica
(long live music)