Founded in 1885, the Bachchor Heidelberg has become an enduring presence in Heidelberg's cultural scene. In the Bachchor Concert series, the choir performs four to five times a year with the Philharmonic Orchestra and soloists from the Theater Heidelberg, a mutually inspiring formal collaboration between amateur and professional musicians that’s unique in Germany. Though the works of J. S. Bach are surely integral to its repertoire, the name doesn’t say it all: as an oratorio ensemble, the Bachchor Heidelberg embraces a very broad spectrum of choral music spanning some six centuries, and it regularly undertakes trips to destinations both within Europe and beyond. Such engagements in the past have taken the choir to Leipzig, Dresden, Monreale in Sicily, Rome, Paris und Salzburg; Heidelberg’s sister cities Rehovot, Montpellier, Bautzen and Simferopol; and even to places as far away as Shanghai and the USA. And while the choir boasts such celebrities as Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Max Reger, Engelbert Humperdinck, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Joana Mallwitz and Ira Hochman among the ranks of its guest directors, it is the continuity of its artistic direction that is truly remarkable: in 2025, Thomas Gropper became only the fifth person to assume the role of chief conductor in the choir’s 140-year history. The Bachchor also regularly performs with local conductors from the Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with distinguished soloists and prominent musicians from outside the Theater’s ensemble, often in the context of the region’s major music festivals: Heidelberger Frühling and Winter in Schwetzingen. If you would like to stay connected with the Bachchor Heidelberg outside of our performances, we warmly invite you to join »Bachfreunde Heidelberg e.V.« – as a member, a donor, or simply as someone who shares our love of choral music.