The Germania Musical Society (1848–1854) was an orchestra that performed in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the mid-19th century. Its musicians emigrated from

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 ...

after a successful tour of England.H. Earle Johnson. "The Germania Musical Society." Musical Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan. 1953) Carl Lenschow and Carl Bergmann served as directors. The group toured throughout the country. Concerts took place in the Melodeon and the

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

, Boston; Brinley Hall and City Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts;American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1

Astor Opera House __NOTOC__ The Astor Opera House, also known as the Astor Place Opera House and later the Astor Place Theatre, was an opera house in Manhattan, New York City, located on Lafayette Street between Astor Place and East 8th Street. Designed by Isaia ...

, New York City;Newman pg. 40 Metropolitan Hall, New York City; Ocean Hall, Newport, Rhode Island; Westminster Hall, Providence; and elsewhere. The group met with particular success in Boston, where they performed

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

's "Overture" to ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' 39 times at 22 concerts, and spent the summer in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. In 1852 they settled in Boston and remained for three years before disbanding. They performed regularly in the oratorio performances of the Handel and Haydn Society, which gave Boston's first performance of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's Ninth Symphony with the Germania Orchestra under the baton of the Germania's conductor Carl Bergmann on April 2, 1853. A reviewer in the ''Journal of Music'' wrote: "It was the unanimous feeling that the 'Germanians' covered themselves with glory upon the occasion."H. Earle Johnson, ''Hallelujah, amen!: The Story of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston'' (Boston: Bruce Humphries, 1965), 66-7, 73-4, 75 By one account: Band members, who had become U.S. citizens, settled in Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Syracuse and Chicago.

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