Shantykoor Rotterdam

Shanty Choir Rotterdam sings sea shanties.  These are the labor songs that were sung on board the large sailing ships to coordinate the work of the crew.  We also perform maritime and Celtic songs.  We entertain at festivals but also in elder care facilities where we give residents a very pleasant time.

We were dormant during the pandemic, but we returned to our normal schedule in the spring of 2022.

You can download our flyer for more information [Netherlands Language].

The Shantykoor Rotterdam has been entrusted with performing on many occasions. Together with three accordionists, two guitarists, a banjo player, a Bodhran player and an enthusiastic conductor, the choir is a welcome guest on various occasions.

In addition to performances in and around Rotterdam, the Shantykoor Rotterdam is also regularly asked to perform outside the provincial border. It is a choir that currently consists of more than 50 members and practices weekly, under the direction of Bert Jansen, on a repertoire that is very broad in terms of shanty repertoire and actually covers a lot, in other words:

• From the rough shanty to the melodious Irish ballads
• After initially starting as a shanty choir in 1995, the choir was mainly looking for real shanties. The repertoire has now been expanded to include mostly sea-related choral works. Works that recall the sometimes most miserable circumstances of the sailor and the suffering of the sailor’s wife of that time. With such a broad and varied repertoire, the Shantykoor Rotterdam is able to give performances or concerts with a “something for everyone” program.
• In addition to all the singing, the Shantykoor Rotterdam has been associated for more than 15 years as co-organizing choir of the annual Shantyfestval Rotterdam, which is highly appreciated nationally and attracts enormous numbers of visitors. This festival is held in the first weekend of September at the same time as the Port Days.