Barbershop in Germany (abbreviated BinG or BinG!) is the association for

barbershop music Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a primari ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was founded in October 1991 and has an official alliance with the US-based

Barbershop Harmony Society The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...

. Any representative of a German barbershop quartet or chorus can become a member of BinG, and individuals may also join as supporting members. The association began with two quartets and eight choruses. As of May 2020, membership included about 40 quartets, 20 choruses, and 800 individuals.

History

In 2001 BinG celebrated its 10th anniversary with a grand concert in the concert hall of the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of stud ...

. The country's first barbershop quartet, Sour Krauts, which had formed locally in 1963, performed at the anniversary concert. Barbershop Blend became Germany's first ladies barbershop chorus in 1984, and Erster Kölner Barbershop Chor followed in 1987 as the first German men's barbershop chorus. Maximilian Hilz is the first chairman of BinG. Manfred Adams was previously the president, having held the role in much of the 1990s and resuming leadership in 2004 until resigning in 2016. Adams is the musical director of the Ladies First chorus from Dortmund.

Champions

BinG organizes a biennial Barbershop Music Festival, which includes national and "World Mixed" championships for quartets and choruses. The association's national champions are: :

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
(

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

)
Ladies First
ten-time German Barbershop Music Festival champions
Harmunichs
three-time German Barbershop Music Festival champions 1991 establishments in Germany Barbershop music Cultural organisations based in Germany German music German musical groups Music education organizations