Festival programme
The international gospelkirchentag is Europe's largest choir festival with 5,000 singers from all over Germany, Europe and beyond. Every other year, we celebrate the diversity of modern choral music in a different German city in the heart of Europe. In 2024, we will be in Essen, in the heart of the Ruhr region in Germany.
Your weekend in paradise
Experience the diversity of European gospel music. During Friday’s gospelnight, choirs from Europe and beyond wow audiences in special locations all over the city! On Saturday we will turn the city of Essen into the capital of gospel music with international gospel choirs performing on open-air stages, workshops for choir singers and the gospel experience – a sing-along gospel concert in the Gruga-Halle. Gospelkirchentag’s highlight is the mass choir practice with 5,000 singers. World class composers and choir leaders teach their brand-new gospel songs.
Festival overview
Friday, 13 September 2024
| Opening show | at 5 PM | with great guests and local choirs |
| Gospel-night | from 8 PM | European choirs stage their concerts all over town |
Saturday, 14 September 2024
| Mass Choir | at 9 AM | sing with 5,000 singers |
| Workshops and open air stages in the city | from 11 AM | |
| Gospel celebration | at 7.30 PM | with international top acts |
Sunday, 15 September 2024
| Mass Choir | at 9 AM | sing with 5,000 singers |
| Gospel party | at 2 PM | Festival service |
Do not miss the most amazing experience: rehearse and sing modern gospel songs in the mass choir with 5 000 singers – be a part of Europe’s largest mass choir. The gospel celebration on Saturday evening is a concert not to be missed. You can sing along to international gospel top acts, like Kirk Franklin and Israel Houghton, who have performed in the past. Together we sing gospel songs with internationally known stars and have a gospel party!
The Gospelkirchentag offers a varied workshop programme to inspire you and provide new ideas for your own choir. You can participate in a maximum of 3 workshops (75 min. each).
The workshops will help you improve your voice and performance. Many are taught in English, are bilingual (German and English) or can be understood without spoken language.
- Workshops (in English)
Number Place Time Workshop Teacher Description 2 FeG Essen 13.30 - 14.45 HarmonySING Mette Risager We all know the feeling when the sounds suddenly merge into an almost heavenly harmony. We get goosebumps and maybe even tears in our eyes. What makes harmonies so magical? And why do different harmonies affect us in different ways? In this workshop, we will immerse ourselves in the magic of harmony. We will try out different harmonies and become better at finding our own place in the choral sound. And we will sing beautiful and catchy acapella songs together. Be ready to sing together, mix and have fun harmonizing. 2 FeG Essen 15.15 - 16.30 HarmonySING Mette Risager We all know the feeling when the sounds suddenly merge into an almost heavenly harmony. We get goosebumps and maybe even tears in our eyes. What makes harmonies so magical? And why do different harmonies affect us in different ways? In this workshop, we will immerse ourselves in the magic of harmony. We will try out different harmonies and become better at finding our own place in the choral sound. And we will sing beautiful and catchy acapella songs together. Be ready to sing together, mix and have fun harmonizing. 3.2 Kirchenmusikschule - Room Ground floor 17.00 - 18.15 Transcultural Worship Session Jörg Spitzer Let's celebrate TOGETHER - Gospel unites! Music transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries. With music we can move towards each other and meet each other! We sing songs with you from Indonesia, Tanzania, South Africa, Congo, USA, Cameroon, Germany in a variety of languages (including Swahili, Zulu, Lingala). Let's celebrate an international gospel party together in diversity! 5 Altfridsaal in the dome 13.30 - 14.45 Gospel meets Flamenco Ramon Escale Although at first glance they may seem like distant musical styles, gospel and flamenco have more in common than one might think at first glance. At a time when gospel is mixing more and more with all styles of music, harmony and Latin American rhythms and flamenco easily find their place in this music. In the workshop we can try out step by step how we can gradually introduce rhythmic and harmonic elements based on traditional gospel themes, which give the songs nuances without losing the gospel feeling. Through clapping and simple rhythmic body movements, we can clearly feel how important rhythm is and how we internalize rhythm as something intrinsic and natural. 5 Altfridsaal in the dome 15.15 - 16.30 Open Gospel Singing - Elvis and his Gospelsongs Georg Weilguny Songs and stories about the person and the gospel singer Elvis Presley. The whole world knows the entertainer and singer Elvis Presley, but only a few know about his intimate and devoted relationship to gospel music. The “King” recorded several gospel albums and always sang gospel songs in his concerts. In this workshop, we want to explore the most famous arrangements - and sing them too, of course! 5 Altfridsaal in the dome 17.00 - 18.15 Sing Scandinavian Gospel Leif Ingvald Skaug Scandinavia has been a fountain of Great gospel music since the 70s. Different choirs, composers and movements have begun since and influenced the Gospel music industry in Europe nearly as much as the USA did. Leif Ingvald Skaug will sing and present different songs and styles from Scandinavian choirs like Reflex, Stavanger Gospel Choir, Oslo Gospel Choir, Opstand Gospel Choir, Joybells, By Grace and others... 6.1 Weiglehaus 13.30 - 14.45 Open Gospel Singing Nina Luna Her power voice impressed everyone since her first appearance at Gospelkirchentag back in 2008. Since then Nina Luna has emerged into one of the most gifted and successful female Gospelartists in Europe. She will sing with us in this workshop and present some of her newest songs she has written in the past year. 6.1 Weiglehaus 15.15 - 16.30 Open Gospel Singing Volney Morgan Enjoy an energetic and powerful workshop singing new songs from Volney Morgan, whose energy and spirit on stage makes you wanna dance and sing. Singing, moving, dancing and praising the Lord through Gospel music. 6.1 Weiglehaus 17.00 - 18.15 Open Gospel Singing Ragnhild Anestad Her Soul Children / SoulTeens movement has discovered the whole world. This movement founded by Ragnhild is successful not only in Norway but in several other countries where youth choirs have started. Ragnhild will do this workshop inspiring you with new and fresh songs especially for choirs with a younger repertoire. 6.2 Weiglehaus Small Room 13.30 - 14.45 Songwriting 2024 Chris Lass What are the tools that help you write a song these days? How does songwriting even work and where do I actually start? Dive into the art of composing and learn how to create your music from the heart, supported by everything from important basics to the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence. These questions and how current songs will sound in 2024 and what implications this has for songwriting will be shown by Chris Lass in this workshop, which will be rounded off with a FAQ round with your questions. Chorforum Hall 15.15 - 16.30 Open Gospel Singing Mark De-Lisser 8 Erlöserkirche 13.30 - 14.45 Afternoon Gospel- Session with new songs Joakim Arenius & Hanjo Gäbler Two artists, many songs. Hanjo Gäbler and Joakim Arenius will take you on an afternoon session where you can get to know new songs written by the two artists. They will be supported on stage by the choir Svart pa vitt from Sweden. 8 Erlöserkirche 15.15 - 16.30 Gospelmeditation Hans Christian Jochimsen Come to rest, sing along, listen to good words, pray. The gospel meditation with Hans Christian Jochimsen and Matthias Kleiböhmer is a musical oasis of calm during the Gospel Church Day. 8 Erlöserkirche 17.00 - 18.15 Open Gospel Singing Donald Lawrence You don't need to write a lot about Donald Lawrence. A gospel producer, artist, singer and arranger since centuries his songs have conquered the world. Donald will bring his unique teaching style to this workshop and teach some of his songs. 9.1 Reformationskirche 13.30 - 14.45 Change ReChoired – The Roots and Routes of Gospel Music Jonas Engström The world is facing major challenges such as polarization, political conflicts, loneliness, mental illness and climate change. Choirs might not be the solution to all problems, but they are definitely a good start. A required force for change. Choral singing is medicine and ministry, the choir is a unique meeting place where we train in participation, interaction, trust and Ubuntu – the art of living together. Starting in West Africa with a focus on powerful voices and rhythms where the whole body is involved conductor and composer Jonas Engström will take us to today's Europe via Chicago and the birth of the gospel music and show us why gospel music is still, 2024, good and hopeful news for congregations, singers and societies. 9.2 Reformationskirche Hall 15.15 - 16.30 The successful choir leader Martin Alfsen What actually makes a successful choir director? How do you achieve your personal goals with the choir? And what plans can you use to achieve these goals? In this workshop, Martin Alfsen will reflect together with the participants on what the short and long-term goals of a choir can be, how concerts and recordings can be prepared and how you can focus on and build up your personally relevant network. This active and honest workshop will also bring your own experiences into play and provide useful tips for inspiration as a choir director.
Europe’s largest gospel festival ends with a grand finale: during the final gospel celebration. Gospelkirchentag means gospel-church-day which is why the Good News of God’s love sound from every single stage. Experience a special kind of gospel during the festival service on Sunday.