Girls (just) wanna have fun—and they have for 20 years

The Cantamore women’s vocal ensemble from Oppenheim, led by singer and vocal coach Anja Stroh, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year—naturally with a concert and a new program.

Formed as a project choir made up of students from the Oppenheim vocal studio VOICE-DESIGN, the (currently) 10 singers have been meeting regularly for rehearsals about every two weeks since 2018. Their passion lies in a cappella music. Here, the singers are not accompanied by any instruments. This requires a great deal of concentration and skill—and that takes time to rehearse.

In 2020, they launched their first a cappella program—only to be immediately derailed by the pandemic. But thanks to Anja Stroh’s ingenuity, the singers weathered this period well.

Now there’s a new program that spans a wide range of genres: from sacred music to klezmer to pop, from the very old to the contemporary. There’s sure to be something for everyone.

In addition to new pieces, the program also features the singers’ favorites. For example, a beautiful arrangement of “Heile, heile Gänsje” penned by Anja Stroh’s husband, Peter Przystaniak, who has been composing and arranging for the vocal ensemble for years and also accompanies the singers on the piano when they’re not performing a cappella.

And since the whole thing is so much fun, the pop song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is, of course, a must. The title pretty much sums up the singers’ approach.

In addition to the music, the girls will share short stories and anecdotes from their 20 years together, and Anja Stroh will explain why she’ll be tuning the pieces in the new program with two different tuning forks. That sounds exciting.

The premiere of the new program is

Sunday, August 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in the Old Courthouse Hall of the Hotel Altes Amtsgericht, Amtsgerichtsplatz 1, 55276 Oppenheim

Admission is free. However, the ensemble would greatly appreciate a donation at the exit.

Andrea Weisrock and her team from the Hotel Altes Amtsgericht will provide refreshments before the concert.