Franconian Singers' Association

Franconian Singers Association ; (FSB)
purpose	Care of choral singing
Chair:	Friedhelm Brusniak
Establishment date:	May 1, 1862
Seat :	Nuremberg
Website:	fsb-online.de

The Fränkische Sängerbund eV (FSB) is an umbrella organization for the care of choral singing. Its seat is in Nuremberg , the office in Coburg .

History of the FSB

" The foundation of the Franconian Singers' Association was completed with tremendous jubilation ". On May 1, 1862, delegates from 106 associations founded the Franconian Singers' Association (FSB) in the "Erlanger Hof" hotel in Bamberg " for the purpose of jointly fostering and promoting German male singing and thereby refining folk customs and preserving the German spirit ", as they did then adopted statute reveals. The following were elected to the committee: Chairman Carl Gerster , Nuremberg; 1. Secretary: Hermann Beckh , Nuremberg; 2. Secretary: Siegmund Freiherr von Haller , Fürth; Treasurer: Jean Dietz , Nuremberg. In the federal committee was u. a. the then city treasurer of Würzburg Valentin Eduard Becker , music director Georg Emmerling from Nuremberg, music director Julius Grobe from Nuremberg elected.

After the end of the war in 1945, any association activity was stopped, and only after the legal situation had been clarified could the FSB be reconstituted in Nuremberg in January 1949 . 68 delegates from 52 associations (almost exclusively male choirs) were present at the time. The number of members rose rapidly. In 2012, almost 1,700 ensembles of all types of choir from Franconia and the northern Upper Palatinate with around 44,000 singers and 70,000 supporting members formed a strong umbrella organization , their Franconian Singers Association.

In 2020, the FSB will represent around 1,600 choirs and ensembles with 38,000 active singers in Franconia and the northern Upper Palatinate. The association is facing new tasks due to the appearance of the corona virus.

Structure of the FSB

The huge catchment area of the FSB is organizationally structured in 13 singing groups (SK), which are further divided into singing groups (SG), to improve contact between the Presidium and its individual clubs. The lowest administrative unit, the SG, can count up to over 50 clubs or limit itself to "only" six clubs, several SG are in turn combined to form a singers' group (SK). The 13 groups of singers ultimately form the Franconian Singers Association. At every level, from the individual choir to the federal level, there is an elected board of directors and an appointed, musically responsible choir director.

The current president of the FSB (2020) is Friedhelm Brusniak, the federal choir director is Gerald Fink. The FSB has an office in 96450 Coburg.

Singers' circles

The singing circles essentially comprise the districts of the administrative districts of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia as well as the Upper Palatinate. Due to historical circumstances, a singing circle can also include parts of a neighboring district or use the name of a district that was dissolved in the 1974 territorial reform.

The 13 singing circles are:

Choir youth

In 1997 the Choir Youth was founded in the Franconian Singing Association as an independent, self-governing umbrella organization. Judith Reitelbach is the chairperson, and the office of federal youth choir leader is currently vacant. The office of the youth choir in the FSB is located in 96450 Coburg .

FSB committees

The highest body of the FSB is the Federal Assembly, which takes place every two years and elects the Presidium of the FSB, among other things. It consists of the president and the three vice-presidents, the treasurer, the secretary, the federal manager, the federal media officer, the federal choir director and his deputies, four assessors and the "born" chairman of the youth choir in the FSB. It also sets the federal contribution. The General Committee (GA) meets on the last Saturday of April and the last Saturday of September. It includes the FSB Presidium, the representatives of the singing groups (SK chairman, SK choir director, SK managing director), the youth choir director and representatives of the national FSB choirs. The GA is responsible for appointing members of the music committee.

The music committee (MA) of the FSB consists of the federal choir director, his two deputies and other elected members, as well as the choir youth choir director.

The Music Advisory Board (MB) consists of the MA members, the district choir directors, the choir youth choir director and one representative each from the national FSB choirs.

Offers from the Franconian Singers Association

As a strong association, the FSB represents the interests of amateur choirs vis-à-vis society and politics. The Bavarian State supports the socio-political and culturally valuable work of its member associations financially with considerable funds. The FSB is a member of the German Choir Association (DVC), the "mouthpiece" for around one million singers. The DCV is the successor organization of the former "German Singers Association" (DSB)

The FSB supports its clubs effectively and a. by:

Acquisition of GEMA fees for choral events
Conclusion of insurance (liability; legal protection, accident)
Honors for "round" club anniversaries (FSB, DCV, Zelter badge )

for long-term choir direction (certificate, badge of honor)

for long-term loyalty to singers (certificate, badge of honor, certificate of honor)

Subsidies for the purchase of new choir sheet music and instruments
Annual grant for "state-approved" choir directors
Training courses on club management for board members
Purchase of the "Fränkische Sängerzeitung"

One focus of the FSB is to sustainably promote the musical work of its choirs:

Regular basic courses for prospective choir directors at SK level
An annual one-week course in “choir director training” with the aim of obtaining “state recognition”
Singing and vocal training through “Come, Sing with!” For singers
Offers for singers to sing along in "supraregional FSB choirs" of all genres:

Children's choir of the Franconian Singing Association

Youth choir of the Franconian Singers Association

Mixtura Cantorum of the Franconian Singers Association (mixed choir)

Women's choir of the Franconian Singers Association

Male choir of the Franconian Singers Association

Pop and jazz selection choir of the Franconian Singers Association

Group and circle concerts at which the choirs can present themselves
FSB series of publications

Book 1 "The Successful Concert", 1996

Issue 2 “The good program”, 2004

Volume 3 "Voice Training", 2011

Publication of several FSB song books at federal and SK level

Regular FSB events

At group and district level there are numerous concerts and further training offers from voice training to getting to know new choral literature.

In addition, the FSB regularly offers a large number of attractive events, including a .:

Federal Choir Festival every two years on the last weekend in July 2011, 2013, 2015, ... At this "family" meeting of choirs with thousands of participants, there is plenty of opportunity to actively sing along and listen.
Performance singing every two years on the last weekend in November 2010, 2012, 2014. From 2010 always takes place in Sulzbach-Rosenberg; there, choirs can achieve the coveted title of “FSB performance choir” in three performance levels. The title is valid for five years and must then be acquired again.
Valentin Becker Competition (every three years): the renowned composition prize is awarded by the FSB together with the city of Bad Brückenau .
Training for choir directors: The Hammelburg Music Academy prepares three-year courses for choir directors for the “State Recognition” examination.
Come on, sing along: At this decentralized event, interested singers get to know new choral literature and new choir directors.

Institutions / Friends of the FSB

Melkendorf singing memorial : Built by GV Melkendorf (Litzendorf) in 1953/54 on the "Hohen Hahn", inaugurated in May 1954, a memorial for all deceased singers, since it was founded by Georg Dorscht for many years, now looked after by Reiner Dorscht (Melkendorf, Litzendorf community ).
Förderverein Sängermuseum e. V., founded in 1987 to set up the singing museum
Singers' museum and foundation "Documentation and Research Center of the German Choir" in Feuchtwangen; Donors: DCV, FSB, Friends of the Singing Museum, the Kurz family
Förderverein Chorakademie Weißenohe: The aim of the Förderverein is to acquire the Weißenohe Monastery and convert it into a choir academy and meeting place for choirs.

The FSB offers non-organized choirs within the area of the Franconian Choir Association to become members. In this way, every member choir supports the choir and benefits from its numerous professional offers!

Famous pepole

Carl Gerster

literature

Friedhelm Brusniak: The big book of the Franconian Singing Association, 1st part; Published by the Franconian Singers Association; Schwingenstein-Verlag-Munich © 1991. ISBN 3-925865-00-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Friedhelm Brusniak: p. 115 (see literature)
^ Georg Georg Emmerling in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
^ Julius Grobe in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
↑ Choral culture will survive Corona nordbayern.de from July 7, 2020.
↑ Singers' groups fsb-online.de

[1] Friedhelm Brusniak: p. 115 (see literature)

[2] Georg Georg Emmerling in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)

[3] Julius Grobe in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)

[4] Choral culture will survive Corona nordbayern.de from July 7, 2020.

[5] Singers' groups fsb-online.de