German Musical Societies Converge on Walla Walla
Hundreds gather for a regional festival of German choral music, marking a high point of cultural activity in Walla Walla’s opera house.
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Members of the Tacoma delegation to the Saengerfest are jubilantly happy today. At the annual meeting of the Saengerbund at Germania Hall this morning, Tacoma was selected as the next place of meeting. The singing was a revelation to the people here and every number was applauded to the echo. The mass choruses rendered by representative singers from each organization filled the opera house with choicest melody, the rich volume of tone even in pianissimo passages being marked. Mayor Gilbert Hunt welcomed the members of the Saengerbund to Walla Walla and gave them the freedom of the city. Tomorrow, at noon, the grand parade of all the delegations will take place through Main street to McCool’s grove for the annual picnic.
“The singing was a revelation to the people here and every number was applauded to the echo.”
This 1903 Saengerfest represents a time when German-American cultural organizations were a central pillar of civic life in Walla Walla. Today, while the specific German singing societies have faded, the tradition of regional festival gathering continues in the city's vibrant annual community and cultural events.
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