History of One World Singers
The One World Singers has a long and colorful history. It grew out of the Denver Turnverein Chorus, a combination of the Rocky Mountain Women’s Chorus and the Denver Maennerchor, which joined together in 1998.
The Rocky Mountain Women’s Chorus started off as a lunch hour class at Metro State College. Originally called the South Metro Chorus, it was open to both men and women, but became a women’s chorus in 1991, under the direction of Larry Meerdink.
The Denver Maennerchor can trace its roots to the first Turnverein chorus founded in 1871, and reestablished in 1936 with 16 members as the Arion Gesangverin. It was one of the first male choruses in the Denver area. In the mid-1990s the name was changed to the Denver Mannerchor.
In 1995, the two choruses toured Europe together, and this led to the establishment of the Denver Turnverein Chorus in 1998, led originally by Larry Meerdink. It was housed at the Denver Turnverein (also called “German House”), a social and cultural organization originally established by German immigrants. In 2008, the Denver Turnverein changed into the Turnverein Dance and Cultural Center.
About that time, the Denver Turnverein Chorus changed its name to the One World Singers to better reflect its mission and vision, and in 2011 moved to its new home at the historic St. Thomas Episcopal Church in the Denver Park Hill neighborhood, 22nd and Dexter Streets.
Today, the One World Singers fulfills its goal of promoting harmony through music from many cultures and traditions by presenting free and paid concerts in the Denver metropolitan area.