The Munich Philharmonic Choral Society can look back a more than 100 years of history. It was launched in 1895 by Franz Kaim, who also founded the Munich Philharmonic, and that self-same year, it gave its first concert, featuring Georg Friedrich Händel´s oratorio "Messiah". Since then the Philharmonic Chorus, made up largely of amateur singers, has appeared in any number of concerts, singing under the direction of such illustrious composers and conductors as Gustav Mahler, Hans Pfitzner, Herbert von Karajan, Sergiu Celibidache and James Levine. Andreas Herrmann is in charge of choral preparation.