MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Michael Connor, director of Williamsport’s Gesang Verein Harmonia choir directs all groups in a mass chorus presentation of Vereih' uns Frieden by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in the United Singers Federation of Pennsylvania's 85th Sangerfest at Messiah Lutheran Church in South Williamsport Saturday. The group is celebrating its 125th anniversary with the event also featuring groups from Altoona, Lebanon, Reading and White Oak.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT — Even if you are of German descent, you may have never heard of a Sangerfest: a singing festival competition closely associated with Germanic culture in which prizes are awarded to the best groups.

This weekend, Williamsport was blessed with its own Sangerfest competition hosted by the Gesang Verein Harmonia Club and the United Singers Federation of Pennsylvania. In addition to the competition and festivities, a free public concert was put on at the Messiah Lutheran Church in South Williamsport on Saturday afternoon.

This year’s competition marked the 85th anniversary of Sangerfest and consisted of about 180 members, some of whom have been singing with their group for decades. In addition to celebrating the 85th anniversary of Sangerfest, members of the Gesang Verein Harmonia Club celebrated their 125th anniversary. In their honor, Williamsport Mayor Gabriel J. Campana officially declared June 9 “Gesang Verein Harmonia Day.”

The competition itself was broken up into three categories: women’s, men’s, and mixed.

Last year, Gesang Verein Harmonia did not have enough women to meet the minimum requirement of ten members. This year, however, there were 15 women competing. Teri Knecht, who has been singing with Gesang Verein Harmonia for 34-plus years, said that the size of the group has declined over the years but they still continue to recruit new members through all possible avenues. “We hope to keep building,” she said.

Until recent years, women were not allowed to enter the competition without the presence of a male sponsor. However, this rule has been abandoned in the past decade, allowing more women to join.

Members seem to agree that the quality of the competition increases every year.

“It’s always wonderful to meet people from other choruses,” Heidi Stopper, one of the group’s naturalized German members, said. “It’s a tough competition because they all sound so great.” The judges likely agreed. Unlike most modern talent competitions where judges would sit at a table directly in front of the stage, the judges of Sangerfest sat in the back of the church sanctuary, their view completely obstructed by a hanging sheet. This was done deliberately so that each group would be judged not by their appearance or facial expressions but rather by the way they harmonized. While this has not always been tradition, it is seen as the most fair for all of the competing groups.

The public concert was well-attended and featured a wide variety of fun and interesting song selections. Members dressed in traditional German dress, with each woman wearing a dirndl and each man a lederhose. One of the most notable performances was the opening piece, “Here Comes the Sun,” by the Beatles.

Anne Doerr, a member of Gesang Verein Harmonia, pointed out how fitting the piece truly was as The Beatles were originally discovered in Hamburg, Germany.

The results for the competition were not expected to be released until this afternoon, following a picnic for members.