When it was founded 120 years ago, the Berliner Oratorien-Chor – then known as the Berliner Volks-Chor – dedicated itself to performing choral symphonic works to bring them to a broader audience and continues to do so today. This type of repertoire is probably the most elaborate type of choral music, as an orchestra is required in addition to a large choir. Such a number of musicians requires a sufficiently large stage and a correspondingly large number of seats for the paying audience. This means that every performance by the Berlin Oratorio Choir involves a great deal of organizational and financial effort. Many concert-goers – and even some participants – are probably unaware of how amateur choral symphony choirs in Berlin finance themselves and how expensive this hobby actually is.
Rehearsals – you can’t do without them
Every performance, every concert, begins with rehearsals. As an amateur ensemble, the BOC usually plans three months of rehearsals on average but as much as six months if the work is very complex.
We rehearse every Wednesday evening in the Hochmeistersaal with all the members. On Mondays, we alternate between female (soprano and alto) and male voices (bass and tenor). The rehearsals are led by the choir director, Thomas Hennig, assisted by the répétiteur, Scott Curry, or his deputy, Klarisse Jaeger. Before the Wednesday rehearsals, there is an additional half-hour voice training session for each voice group alternating in a four-week rhythm, during which Sonja Bisgiel works on the overall sound of the voice group and vocal technique. Then, she continues with the warm-ups for the entire group. All four musicians are professionals, and their work is remunerated accordingly.
Monthly rent is due for the rehearsal room and the choir archive, which contains documents from 120 years of choir history. In addition, the choir has other ongoing and regular costs, such as membership administration, sheet music, bank accounts, website, and memberships in the Berlin Choir Association (CVB) and the Association of German Concert Choirs (VDKC). These regular costs can be easily estimated and are usually covered by the contributions of active and supporting members as well as project singers.
Concerts – almost always a loss-making business
The performances themselves constantly present the choir with new challenges and financial risks. Not many suitable stages are available in Berlin for concerts with 90 or more singers and orchestra. For this reason, the BOC usually performs in the Konzerthaus or the Philharmonie. The BOC organizes two large concerts with choral symphonic programs each year, sometimes with a third, smaller concert in a smaller venue. Paid engagements by other organizers are rather rare.
Renting the Philharmonie and Konzerthaus for a concert depends on the weekday and the highest ticket price. The Philharmonie, with 2206 seats, charges the list price of at least EUR 12,100 net for use of the great hall.
Artist and orchestra fees are also significant cost factors and depend on the instrumentation and, thus, the planned program: the larger and more complex the orchestra, the higher the fee. Usually, four soloists and the conductor also need to be paid. Other not-insignificant costs arise from advertising the concert, where the board has to decide on a case-by-case basis how much advertising is necessary and where it makes sense. Experience has shown that the total costs are at least EUR 30,000 per concert.
Ticket sales are always unpredictable. Ticket prices are set so that the majority of costs are covered in the event of realistic capacity utilization. However, a ticket price that is too high can put the audience off. Even with popular pieces, however, there is no guarantee that tickets will sell in abundance, as concert dates, weather, and the general economic situation also influence purchasing behavior. The current trend is towards buying tickets at ever-shorter notice. Choir members usually sell the majority of tickets.
For the concerts since 2017, ticket income has averaged around 17,500 Euros. However, this alone rarely covers the total costs. Therefore, there is a very high risk that the choir will suffer a considerable loss at every concert.
Donations and funding help a lot
The financial manager’s task is, therefore, to minimize financial risk. One way of doing this is to raise donations. The company Bardusch has been generously supporting us for several years now.
Funding can also be applied for, e.g. from the Berlin Senate‘s choir funding program, the Berlin Choir Association‘s concert funding program, federal amateur music funds or other institutions. However, state funding is not guaranteed in the long term. In addition, all these funding sources involve considerable bureaucratic effort, both in the application process and the final settlement.
The financial future of the choir
For the next two years, the choir will receive basic funding from the Senate, which is good for the choir’s finances but is still not sufficient for financial security. Ideally, all our concerts would be self-supporting through ticket sales, which is what the choir always strives for. A concert in front of a full house is much more fun for both us and the audience. We therefore hope that you will also enjoy our next concert and that we will perhaps be able to welcome you again at the following one!
