This was the fourth BFV Festival

Successful new start: the further development of the Black Forest Voices Festival

The first Black Forest Voices Festival (BFV) in 2019 was a great success, but the years that followed were difficult: In January 2020, festival founder and artistic director Tobias Hug died after a serious illness. 2020 and 2021 were marked by the pandemic: the "Web.stival 2020" was completely re-planned, conceived, financed, organized and implemented in a very short time, and the BFV-Day 2021 allowed at least one day of presence on site in Kirchzarten. The new artistic director Tanja Pannier and the co-founders Nina Ruckhaber, Dörte Zillessen, Julian Knörzer and Richard Leisegang, who are now once again five members of the BVF team, are convinced that these sometimes enormous efforts were worthwhile:

Partnership and fertile soil

This year's new start of Black Forest Voices 2022 fell on enormously fertile ground and was able to build on a partnership and wonderful cooperation with the municipality of Kirchzarten, with local supporters, with spectators and listeners, workshop participants on site AND in the national and international vocal scene: BFV was never really "gone". And so the BFV Festival 2022 was in almost all areas a successful further development of four years of BFV culture. The result can be measured - not only - in numbers:

About 465 participating musicians, singers, choirs, ensembles and teachers at 13 locations.

In 6 concerts, 40 workshops and 28 performances and activities in the supporting program (Kirchzarten sings! performances, Singing Corner, fair, sing-along truck stations, warm ups and open singing, festival meadow etc.) there were not only 220 musicians and singers in 19 ensembles, 37 instructors as well as well over 750 workshop visitors and 225 active participants in the supporting program, as well as 6 local beverage and food stands on the festival meadow with countless visitors.

Not all - but many - of these participants can be seen in our beautiful 5-minute BFV film: https://youtu.be/wtrL4jECnh4

Over 800 workshop visitors from 8 different countries: Locally connected, globally networked

The promotion and the realization of culture and music in rural areas by our partners is worthwhile: musicians, singers and cultural workers - and last but not least: Over 800 workshop visitors from music lovers from 8 nations (Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, England, USA, Denmark, Netherlands) came together in the workshops - but of course also at the concerts, the festival meadow and at the events and participatory activities of the supporting program - to talk to each other, listen to each other, learn from each other.

Cooperation partners and venues for games and workshops

BFV is - even after 2 years of pandemic-heavy action opportunities - incredibly well networked, "old" cooperation partners were back in the game, and new ones could be found:  Kirchzarten inclusive; Children and Youth Office Kirchzarten, Bundesmusikverband Chor & Orchester e.V., Deutscher Musikrat e.V., Deutsche Chorjugend e.V., Gemeinde Kirchzarten, Sparkasse Hochschwarzwald, Bürgerstiftung Kirchzarten, Tourismus Dreisamtal e.V., Beckesepp KG, Lehmann Hörakustisk, Lotto Baden-Württemberg, Schwäbischer Chorverband e.V., Chorverband Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg e.V., Associazione Alessio, Willi Sutter, Wandres Micro-Cleaning, ewk, Fürstenberg, Dreisamtäler, Medi@thek Kirchzarten, althaus Garten- und Landschaftsbau, Grundschule Kirchzarten, Hotel Fortuna, Katholische St.-Gallus-Gemeinde Kirchzarten, Evangelische Heiliggeist-Gemeinde Kirchzarten, and many more.

We were allowed to use at least 22 venues, places or rooms, mostly free of charge: Talvogtei courtyard, meadow in front of the Talvogtei, social room and meeting room in the Talvogtei, Große Stube, Protestant Church, Catholic St. Gallus Church, Kirchzarten Elementary School, ewk social room, Medi@thek, Bürgersaal, 3 rooms of the St. Gallus Parish Hall, 2 meeting rooms and wine cellar of the Hotel Fortuna, Schalampi, La Fiesta, market square, conference house of the Sparkasse, square in front of the Old Town Hall and many spontaneous places!

Culture as an economic factor: overnight stays, service providers and more

Through the BFV e.V. alone, almost 100 overnight stays were booked in 5 Kirchzarten accommodations (hotels, guesthouses, camping site) around and during the festival. Many self-booking multi-day festival participants:inside are added in the hotels, choirs and ensembles on the campsite and surrounding youth hostels. We also know of numerous purchases in the attractive stores, especially in the pedestrian zone, as well as use of the gastronomy outside the festival meadow times and also in between.

At least 13 service providers from Kirchzarten and the surrounding area were involved in the festival: Rettich Getränke (Kirchzarten), Atlantis Trinkwassertechnik (Hartheim am Rhein), ewk (Kirchzarten), Würzburger Raumeinheiten (Bad Bellingen), René Schreiber (Gottenheim), Paul Becker GmbH (Freiburg), B&HP Weißhaar (Emmendingen), Coco Sound (Freiburg), Pfeffer & Stift (Freiburg), Unicorn (Freiburg), Flyeralarm (Würzburg), Wall GmbH (Karlsruhe), Sascha Mittmann Werbung (Freiburg).

Thirteen-strong team and 38 helpers

The 13-member BFV team on site consisted of the artistic and organizational management team with Tanja Pannier, Nina Ruckhaber, Richard Leisegang, Dörte Zillessen and Julian Knörzer. They were joined by production manager Annika Mohr, volunteer and catering coordinator Fabian Mondl, and team assistant Klara Schmider. Matthias Klingner (sound) and Sebastian Anders (lighting) were responsible for stage technology. The camera team for this year's festival team are Jonas Riedel, Joos Mengdehl and Leonard Wölfl, our photographer is Ellen Schmauss. Graphic designer for all printed matter, helper cloths, bags as well as the website is Paul Dreßler from Pfeffer & Stift GmbH from the beginning and proven.

Without helpers and volunteers nothing would work: We are glad and happy to have found 38 volunteers after great initial difficulties: all of them are enthusiastic singers and music lovers who were also allowed to attend the concerts and workshops, which greatly benefited the togetherness and the family atmosphere of the festival!

The reactions: enthusiastic spectators and partners

Right on the day after the BFV Festival, the Badische Zeitung wrote on June 20, 2022: "The Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten is much more than just a concert event. This was shown once again last weekend. Even away from the numerous concerts [...] the whole village vibrated with music."

Other reactions that reached us by e-mail from the audience, participants, lecturers and musicians, caterers and venues: „Wir können uns nur bei euch (...) bedanken für die supertolle Organisation. So einen Ablauf hat man selten und vor allem der Kontakt war unglaublich sympathisch…”, “On my way to the airport after overwhelming, emotional experience that was blackforestvoices.”; “... war ganz begeistert, wie gut die Stimmung war, wie gut besucht die einzelnen Programmpunkte und wie positiv die Rückmeldungen der Teilnehmer und Besucher…”. “Das Black Forest Voices Festival war wieder ein voller Erfolg. Wir freuen uns schon auf das kommende Jahr und eine neue Ausgabe. Danke für die gute Zusammenarbeit!”, “... schon sind wir zurück in Bonn und vermissen euch und den schönen Schwarzwald schon schmerzlich. Wir haben uns sehr herzlich aufgenommen gefühlt und die Atmosphäre in vollen Zügen genossen.”, “...We so, so enjoyed all the concerts, workshops and hanging out with all the amazing singers …”, “... Check out that vocal festival, which brings together Local and international artists, and provides space to listen, sing, learn, jam, discuss and hang around with a bunch of wonderful people.”, “... Welch ein Fest! Wunderbare Menschen… Unglaublich schöne vielfältige Musik…”.

>> Photos of the festival 2022

Outlook: The next edition of Black Forest Voices is scheduled for June 15-18, 2023.