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German immigrants to Texas embraced their traditional culture of music, art, societies and clubs. On March 2, 1850, the singing society "Germania" was organized in New Braunfels under direction of Gottfried Joseph Petmecky (1809-1871). The group sponsored their first singing event at that year's Fourth of July celebration on the banks of the Comal River. Many cities and towns in Texas with large German populations formed similar groups, and in 1853, the first statewide Saengerfest was held in New Braunfels, on Friedrich Hermann Seele's farm on the Guadalupe River. By 1876, other singing societies formed in Comal County included the New Braunfelser Maennerchor, Echo Society, Smithson Valley Echo Society, Anhalt Singing Society, Honey Creek Singing Society, and Walhalla Singing Society at Sattler. Early societies were only for men, but by 1895, mixed-voice societies included the Concordia Gemischter Chor.
On November 13, 1937, Gilbert A. Becker (1906-1985) organized the New Braunfels Gemischter Chor Harmonie. Becker was a farmer, singer and music director whose father, Heinrich Becker (1860-1925), was a charter member of the Clear Spring Frohsinn Singing Society. The group numbered 46 members by 1938 and was recognized as one of the best mixed-voice singing societies in the region. New members were selected competitively, voted on anonymously by the membership using a system of black and white balls. By the 1990s, the group was the only remaining German singing society in New Braunfels. Initially focused on saengerfests, the group expanded to holidays, community festivals and other special events. Many members have joined the society to improve their German language proficiency. Though it was the last local German singing society formed after nearly a century of tradition, the group continues to preserve and promote this important aspect of cultural heritage. (2020) |
