Press dossier
15 years of SING! – How communal singing strengthens Berlin’s schools
Singing is the simplest and most direct way into music – and at the same time a path to participation in society and culture. Since 2011, the SING! education programme has been supporting children and teachers at Berlin primary schools with the aim of establishing singing as a vibrant, natural means of expression in everyday school life.
Anniversary celebration on 26 November 2026
On Thursday, 26 November 2026, SING! will celebrate its anniversary with a ceremonial event. A one-hour festive concert is planned with singers from the Rundfunkchor Berlin under the direction of Gijs Leenaars, together with pupils from various SING! primary schools.
The event is not open to the public and will take place by invitation only. Media representatives are warmly invited to cover the occasion; press accreditation is available via the SING! press office. The venue in Berlin will be announced in due course.
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SING! – The Rundfunkchor Berlin education programme
The programme aims to establish singing as a firmly anchored part of everyday school life in Berlin primary schools. Rather than outsourcing music education solely to extracurricular afternoon activities, SING! integrates communal singing directly into lessons. Teachers become active learners and receive comprehensive training in working with their own voices and in leading children in song. SING! is a cooperative project with Berlin primary schools, district music schools and the Landesmusikakademie Berlin, run under the auspices of the Rundfunkchor Berlin.
»The goal of SING! is for singing truly to become a firmly established part of everyday school life again – for it to belong there just as much as reading and writing.« – Sabrina Friedrich Heinrich, SING! choir teacher at the Carl-Kraemer-Grundschule in Wedding
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15 years of SING! in Berlin primary schools
Since 2011, SING! – the education programme of the Rundfunkchor Berlin – has been bringing singing back to Berlin primary schools, not as a short-lived initiative but as a lasting change that embeds singing as a natural means of expression in everyday lessons. The idea originally came from Simon Halsey, honorary conductor of the Rundfunkchor Berlin, who took his inspiration from the British model »Sing Up«. What began 15 years ago as a pilot project with a small number of schools has now grown into a key pillar of cultural education in Berlin: 38 schools have taken part so far. Each school year, around 600 to 800 children sing regularly in SING! choirs, and around 70 educators attend weekly training sessions to learn how to use their voices purposefully and to guide children in singing.
Project content
Training for teachers and educational staff
The core of the project is the weekly training in child-friendly singing for primary school teachers and educational staff. In these sessions, interested teachers and educators are introduced to the theory and practice of singing with children, receive professional vocal training, and develop methods, songs and exercises for everyday use in the classroom.
The secret of SING!’s success lies in its long-term approach: schools are accompanied continuously over a period of three years. During the project, school concert formats and musical rituals become established which continue beyond the programme itself. After three years, many teachers are so well trained that they go on to found new choirs at their schools in order to continue the choral work.
SING! choirs
The SING! choirs, together with the training for educators, form the heart of the education programme. During regular lesson time, children from different classes come together once a week on a voluntary basis to sing for 45 minutes.
The three age-appropriate SING! choirs are led by trained choral teachers. Singing takes place without scores or printed lyrics; melody and text are learned with gestures that bring the whole body into action. This creates a very low-threshold entry point: children can take part even without being able to read music, or if memorising texts is difficult for them. Over the course of the project, the choirs become a firmly established part of school and neighbourhood life, performing at school events, local concerts, festivals and, ultimately, at the Liederbörse in the Philharmonie.
Multilingual song repertoire
An important part of SING! is its multilingual song repertoire. It reflects the realities of children’s lives in school and mirrors Berlin’s cultural and linguistic diversity.
When a song is heard in a child’s own language, they experience appreciation and recognition; songs in other languages open up new horizons and spark curiosity. At the same time, the multilingual repertoire supports language development, as children engage with meaning, pronunciation, rhythm and the melody of language.
For its work in schools, SING! has compiled extensive materials for songs from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Musicians from different musical cultures are invited to make music together with the SING! choirs and to share their songs first-hand.
Patron visits and rehearsal visits
Several times a year, the patron singers of the Rundfunkchor Berlin visit their SING! schools. These patron singers accompany their schools throughout the entire duration of the project and form a bridge between the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the schools.
During their visits, they tell the children about their everyday lives as musicians, sing with them, introduce them to the professional singing voice and work together on new songs. In this way, personal encounters and direct exchange emerge, opening up the world of professional music-making to the children in a very special way.
Rehearsal visits to the Haus des Rundfunks are also among the defining experiences of the programme. There the children experience the atmosphere of a choir rehearsal, sing together with the Rundfunkchor Berlin, ask questions, try their hand at conducting and present their own songs to the choir.
The Liederbörse at the Philharmonie
A special highlight is the Liederbörse at the Philharmonie Berlin. From a small sing-along concert it has grown into a major event at which, every year, 1,500 pupils from around 30 school choirs perform together with the Rundfunkchor Berlin in two concerts.
For the SING! choirs at primary schools, the Liederbörse has a particular significance: they share the stage with the Rundfunkchor Berlin, present their own pieces and perform the songs they have prepared over many weeks in front of a large audience. For parents and children alike, the Liederbörse also offers a low-threshold way into the Philharmonie Berlin. On 12 June this year’s Liederbörse for primary schools took place under the theme »Starlight and thunderclaps«.
The »SING! Berlin« training series
Complementing its work in schools, SING! offers the »SING! Berlin« training series as a format for vocal educators, choir directors, primary school teachers and early-years practitioners.
In three-day training courses, methods and exercises for lively and motivating children’s choir work in primary schools are conveyed and tested in practice. Each event focuses on its own specific content and is designed as a space for exchange, hands-on experience and fresh perspectives on singing with children. The training series is run in cooperation with the Landesmusikakademie Berlin.
Partners and supporters
SING! is a cooperative project with Berlin primary schools, district music schools and the Landesmusikakademie Berlin, run under the auspices of the Rundfunkchor Berlin. SING! is made possible through the generous support of the Ernsting Kunst & Kulturstiftung, the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family, and the Friends and Supporters of the Rundfunkchor Berlin e.V.
Discover all partnersPress release
Voices from SING!
»SING! has everything that makes a successful participatory project: it is designed for the long term, it is extremely up-to-date, truly anchored in society – it is right at the heart of it.« – Ute Legner, SWR and jury member, Junge Ohren Prize
»Today is the first performance of our newly founded school choir! We currently have almost 60 children singing! For us this is a huge success and clearly the result of our collaboration with you!« – Teacher, Märkische Grundschule Berlin
»For the choir and for me, it is inspiring to experience the immediate enthusiasm of the young listeners in rehearsal. The children make it very clear to us what social role we fulfil.” – Gijs Leenaars, Principal Conductor, Rundfunkchor Berlin
»Through regular singing, but also through the vocal training, my voice has become more secure.« – Teacher and SING! participant, Mercator-Grundschule Berlin
»It is really lovely to sing in another language. When I sing in a different language, it always feels like a different melody to me.« – Pupil and SING! choir member
Further information
Find more information about SING! on our website or directly in our project brochure.
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Lucca Wilkin
Educational Programme SING! (PR and Media)The image and text material provided on this page is protected by copyright and may only be used in the context of current reporting on the Rundfunkchor Berlin. Any further use, in particular for promotional, commercial or other purposes, requires the prior written consent of the Rundfunkchor Berlin.
