The AMC's roots & heritage go back the 1860s, starting with 2 German men's choirs in Altoona, PA.
150+ years later we perform a broad & diverse variety of songs ... catering to our Central PA audiences' tastes + needs (incl. The Altoona Men's Chorus was created in 1965 through the merger of 2 German Heritage Choirs which had cultivated German choral singing for 101 and 95 years respectively. The F
rohsinn Singing Society had been established February 22nd, 1864 (incorporated in 1883) ... while the Concordia Singing Society was founded on January 8th, 1870. Through their 1965 merger to form the new "Altoona Männerchor", these two choirs pooled singers (whose numbers had markedly decreased in both choirs over the decades), thereby establishing the 40+ singers strong AMC. Ever since ... that Altoona Männerchor has been participating in the annual Pennsylvania Sängerfest of 5 or 6 choirs from as far away as Reading, Williamsport and Pittsburgh, competing against each other with diligently rehearsed prize-songs, and "crowning" annual winners in 3 categories. In its heydays (60s-early 90s), besides taking home many Sängerfest trophies ... the Altoona Männerchor performed at many local events every year, but also numerous "gigs" further away, incl. Besides the core German song-repertoire (Lieder) the AMC carried on the tradition of both, Frohsinn & Concordia Singing Societies of performing patriotic songs, Christmas programs, and select religious/spiritual material. Then, over the last few decades the AMC already "updated", modernized and broadened its song repertoire to include 1960/70s hits ... and even some 1980s material: Beatles Medley; Sounds of Silence; What a Wonderful World; Let there be Peace on Earth; Autumn Leaves; the Coca Cola-ad song "I'd love to teach the World to Sing"; chart-toppers by the Beach Boys and Roy Orbison. Fast-forward to the 21st Century ... and the difficult trends of the 1950s/60s have re-surfaced: Cultural changes, demographic "inevitabilities" ... Dwindling singers/member numbers ... Finding new quality singers. This time merging with another, similarly "structured" choir is not an option. But modifications and "modernization" of the AMC's structure, repertoire and mission are possible - thereby heeding our times' trends and changes. Live, and when it resonates with their lives ! Surely, there still is a purpose for a choir that preserves the rich cultural and musical heritage of Blair County & Central Pennsylvania at large; performing at diverse locations around the region, wherever Clubs/social groups have their events. Besides German Clubs (Bavarian Hall, Unter Uns, Heidelberg, Swiss Club) we also want to offer programming for other local Clubs (Cesare Battisti, Buccinese, St. Stanislaus Koska, Newburg Firehall, UVA), and for Railroad heritage events. So - stay tuned ...
and keep your fingers crossed for this "2nd Reboot" to go as well as the one in 1965.
