As of: February 21, 2024, 6:30 a.m
By: Christiane Mühlbauer
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At the end of March, the Tölzer Boys' Choir will perform the “St. John Passion” in the Palace Chapel of Versailles.
A CD recording will also be made.
The choir currently has a total of 150 children.
© Choir
The Tölzer Boys' Choir has settled in well in its new quarters in Unterföhring.
However, the effects of the Corona period are still noticeable.
What will happen next with the choir festival in Bad Tölz is still unclear.
Bad Tölz - There have been a few changes to the boys' choir in the last few months: On the one hand, it moved its studios to Unterföhring, and on the other hand, a new artistic director, Stellario Fagone, was hired (we reported).
“We have settled in well in Unterföhring, we are very satisfied,” says managing director Barbara Schmidt-Gaden about the new, larger rooms.
It is planned to offer homework support for the boys from September.
“We see that this would be very good for the overall care concept and for relieving the burden on parents.”
New ideas with Stellario Fagone
The boys got along very well with Stellario Fagone, who, as is well known, moved from the Bavarian State Opera to the boys' choir.
“We are currently developing new ideas for our Christmas program,” says the managing director.
While the focus was previously on Alpine Christmas carols, they now also want to rehearse German Christmas carols.
That's no coincidence, because: "We notice that the children know less and less of these pieces, not even 'Every Year Again' anymore," says Schmidt-Gaden, and adds: "But 'Rudolph, the red- They all know the nosed reindeer.” The time after Christmas “is the time before Christmas for us,” says Schmidt-Gaden with a smile about the early planning.
Apart from that, numerous other performances fill the choir's schedule, currently taking part in opera performances such as “The Magic Flute”, “Lohengrin” and “Tannhäuser”.
The next big project is the performance of the “St. John Passion” in the palace chapel at Versailles at the end of March.
A CD recording will be created.
The last time the boys' choir was in Versailles was in 2018, with the “St. Matthew Passion”.
The appointment was already made during the Corona period.
“We thought for a long time whether we could do it because we had fewer children during the Corona period and couldn't estimate whether we would be able to provide soloists for such a big performance,” reports Schmidt-Gaden.
“We jumped into the deep end.” She is all the more pleased that it is now working.
The performance is directed by Gaétan Jarry.
The collaboration with the Italian conductor Francesco Corti will also continue.
As reported, the Tölzer Boys' Choir received glowing reviews for the “Messiah” performance in Basel under Corti's direction.
“He has a lot of power and the kids really like him.”
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Many career changers after the pandemic
There are currently 150 boys singing in the choir, divided into five levels.
“Before the pandemic, we had around 30 more children,” says Schmidt-Gaden.
There are 59 children in choir one, the highest.
In the following choirs, 20 to 25 children sing per level.
The effects of the pandemic, when not so many children came, are now being felt here.
“What we can't do at the moment is to run concerts twice.
We can't manage two choirs in parallel again yet.” The managing director is hopeful that there will be a steady stream of children in the youngest choir (level five).
“Interestingly, there are a lot of career changers now, even at the age of ten or twelve,” says Schmidt-Gaden.
“That didn’t exist before.”
What will happen to the boys' choir festival in Tölz?
The last boys' choir festival in Tölz was two years ago.
At that time, for the first time, there was a supporting program with open-air concerts by local artists.
Nevertheless, the festival was still dominated by the pandemic, and advance ticket sales did not go well for every concert.
It is currently unclear whether and how the festival, which has existed since 2014, will be held again.
There will be a conversation with the tourist information office soon.
“From a financial perspective, the festival can no longer be managed in this form,” says Schmidt-Gaden.
The subsidy from the city alone is not enough; additional funding is definitely needed.
“If 150 children take part, it is of course more expensive than if there is only one quartet on stage or a reading takes place,” says Schmidt-Gaden, referring to other cultural festivals in Bad Tölz.
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Appearances in Tölz
In his hometown you can hear the choir in 2024 on various occasions.
For example, as part of the 100th anniversary of the city band, but the date has not yet been set.
On July 25th, the boys will take part in the concert of the symphony orchestra of the Tölzer Music School on Marktstrasse.
The patron concert is expected to take place in September in the Kalvarienberg Church.
There will also be a St. Nicholas and Christmas concert again.