Willi Sommerwerk from Geretsried picks up his guitar when someone needs help.
The 73-year-old musician has given many benefit concerts - with great success.
Geretsried - "We're doing so well - and maybe we can help those who urgently need it right now": Willi Sommerwerk doesn't just say it like that.
He follows words with deeds.
The musician, who lives in Geretsried, has now collected almost 10,000 euros with his benefit concerts over the years.
Regardless of whether a fire destroyed the livelihood of a family or the playground at the preschool kindergarten was damaged in a storm - shortly afterwards Sommerwerk picked up his guitar and played for a good cause.
“The only thing I don't do is act as an organizer.
I can't do the organization for the hall, GEMA and so on on my own."
Geretsried: Willi Sommerwerk has already earned 10,000 euros with benefit concerts
Sommerwerk repeatedly emphasizes that he "sees it as a gift to have the gift of making music".
He just wanted to give something back, to make others happy with his talent.
"It's important to me that people enjoy my concert, enjoy it," said the 73-year-old.
"And if they donate to a good cause, they should do it because they liked it."
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The man with the guitar: Willi Sommerwerk.
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Sommerwerk, who was born in the Swabian town of Oettingen (“A small town with almost 6000 inhabitants”), came to music at the age of 14.
"I thought that if I'm a guitarist, the girls would be interested in me," the Geretsrieder remembers and laughs heartily.
The musician can still clearly remember one of his first instruments.
"From Otto-Versand, with artificial leather and a few buttons whose meaning - if they even had one - was never clear to me."
Willi Sommerwerk organizes benefit concerts - he is a fan of Reinhard Mey
Together with two friends he played in a band that often had to improvise in terms of amplifiers and other technical equipment.
Nevertheless, the first engagements soon followed, the fee consisted of 35 marks “and a pair of Wieners for each of us”.
Sommerwerk, a die-hard fan of Reinhard Mey - "He showed me what you can do with the German language, he inspired me" - he began to write songs himself under the influence of the 1968 movement.
And he played with the band "Gegenwind" at various political hotspots.
But there was also a Willi Sommerwerk in "normal" life.
He trained as a grocer and worked his way up to become the auditor of a larger supermarket.
He later ended up at the AOK.
Musicians from Geretsried: More than half of his concerts are for charity campaigns
His willingness to take responsibility for others was always there.
"I looked after two people with disabilities, I gave concerts in a clinic on a voluntary basis and led a self-help group for people with MS in Neuperlach," he lists a few points.
He was also involved in community projects.
"After a musical break, it grabbed me again," he says.
He continued as a solo artist and developed his own programs such as "Schön war die Zeit", a musical journey from 1949 to 1968, or "Kenen warn die Zeit" (Don't stand a moment).
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The Geretsrieder estimates that around 60 percent of his appearances serve a good cause.
"I have everything I need.
So it goes without saying that you get involved and help others.”
