As of: February 7, 2024, 9:00 p.m
By: Magnus Reitinger
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The Weilheim Chamber Orchestra under conductor Florian Appel offered four performances of the fairy-tale opera “Hansel and Gretel” for a total of 1,200 elementary school students from Weilheim and the surrounding area in the large Hochlandhalle.
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Around 1,200 primary school students received very special music lessons in Weilheim: They experienced concerts by the Weilheim Chamber Orchestra specially designed for them in the large Hochlandhalle.
Weilheim - The Weilheim Chamber Orchestra presented its popular children's concerts in a new form this year: For the first time, the musicians had developed a program outside of their usual spring and autumn concerts.
They wanted to “find their own appealing and approachable form” for the young audience, explains conductor Florian Appel.
And it was a great success, as shown by the enthusiastic reactions of around 1,200 primary school students from Weilheim and the surrounding area at the four morning concerts in the large Hochlandhalle.
Young singers also performed
The program, for the preparation of which a separate working group had been formed within the orchestra association, included music from Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy tale opera “Hansel and Gretel”.
And it wasn't just the orchestra itself that could be heard and seen.
From his “close environment,” according to Appel, Sophie Babilon sang and played Gretel and Carolin Daser played Hansel.
Klaus Babilon, organizational head of the working group and usually double bass player in the chamber orchestra, appeared as father and sandman.
Appel himself acted as the narrator and, equipped with a hand puppet, slipped into the role of the witch.
This is how the well-known fairy tale appeared before the eyes and ears of the children in a colorful combination of spoken text, dialogue and singing scenes.
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The participants even made a small stage set: the parents' room and the witch's house marked the main venues.
And as they walked through the forest, Hansel and Gretel roamed through the rows of young visitors looking for berries.
To ensure that the teachers could prepare the students well for the concert, the working group had provided special material in advance.
The performances were applauded
On site it wasn't just listening: all the children sang together at the concerts with Gretel and the orchestra “A Little Man Stands in the Forest”.
The reward for everyone involved was “shining children’s eyes and huge cheers at the end of each performance,” reports Florian Appel.
This encourages the chamber orchestra to “continue to develop its chosen path with additional programs in the coming years.”
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