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The two women, who were already on stage together as the opening act for Reamonn and the Bananafishbones, get along well even in the smallest of spaces.
© private
You were successful on “DSDS” and “The winner is”.
But Elli Erl and Tina van Wickeren are much more than Freising's TV dream couple.
Freising
– One won the second season of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” in 2004, the other made it to the semi-finals of “The winner is”: Elli Erl and Tina van Wickeren.
They married in 2019 and have been teaching together at the Gute Änger secondary school since 2022.
They were previously on tour in Europe for a year, have just published a book about it, are giving a concert as Elli & Tina on April 26th in the Lindenkeller and can be seen on Ringlstetter on Bavarian television on April 18th.
So there are many good reasons for the FT to ask the duo for an interview.
Elli and Tina, you arrived in Bavaria in 2022: What brought you to Freising and to the Gute Änger secondary school?
Tina:
We moved to Bavaria after our year off.
We had already prepared for the year of leave years beforehand and thought long beforehand about starting all over again afterwards.
In another federal state, in Bavaria, very close to the mountains and beautiful lakes, Italy and close to Elli's family.
Elli comes from Straubing and always wanted to go back home or to Regensburg.
My family is and has always been very fond of Bavaria - so it wasn't a difficult decision for me either.
Elli:
In order not to be arbitrarily transferred somewhere as civil servant teachers, we actively applied in February 2022 where we liked the school and the surrounding area.
Getting a job in Regensburg was and is impossible, so the plan was to look around Munich, as we have good friends there too.
So during our six-week ski and snowboard tour in Saalbach we looked around on many homepages and came across the Gute Änger secondary school.
Great first impression digitally and even better in reality.
A new, very beautiful school in the countryside, where the students slid towards us in their socks, the headmistress Ms. Weigl warmly welcomed us and immediately showed us around.
Somehow it made us feel comfortable and good in this uncertainty.
Tina:
Then we had to wait and continue traveling.
After all, we were still hoping a little bit that maybe things could work out with Regensburg after all.
However, Freising was always on our minds.
Elli:
And then on the way back from France to Cologne I got a call from the ministry saying that they would offer us both a position at the Gute Änger secondary school.
We looked at each other and it was clear that we would do the same thing.
So we said yes and are now happy at this wonderful school and also very happy in Freising.
Take us back to your previous stages in life.
Elli:
I would like to start with my great school days at the Anton-Bruckner Gymnasium in Straubing.
There I really discovered my love for music and was able to learn and try out a lot of things.
I started with piano (accordion in elementary school) and my piano teacher, who is also a great trumpet player, said to me one day: “All little people can play the trumpet.” I think I had my first trumpet lesson the next day.
I then played in the big band, sang in the choir and when I was 15 I started singing in my first band “Panta Rei”.
We really were an amazing group.
It got to the point where we were the opening act for Reamonn or the Bananafishbones and much more.
We produced various albums, but unfortunately we never managed to get a major record deal, even though we tried everything and occasionally came close to it.
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Elli and Tina fulfilled a dream with the Cliffi motorhome: they traveled across Europe for a year.
They even wrote a book about this time.
© gianluca asunis
How did you come to be a teacher?
Elli:
We separated when we all spread out in all possible directions for various courses.
I went to Regensburg to study music and sports teaching at secondary schools.
Thank God I was able to quickly gain a foothold musically in Regensburg and became the singer of the cover band “Gong fm Band” on the local radio station.
And how did DSDS come about?
Elli:
At some point I saw DSDS for the first time.
The first season was on and my friend Nina and bandmate said, “Sign up and see how far you get.”
I did that too and the result, contrary to expectations, was the victory of the second season of DSDS.
After the victory, I immediately moved to Cologne, as it was a better location for everything else, and completed my first state examination in November 2005.
For six great years I was only allowed to make music and live from it.
But it wasn't always easy.
I experienced a lot of great things, toured America, wrote and produced two albums and met great musicians and people.
However, back in Germany it was somehow always difficult to gain a foothold.
Now you are a full-time teacher again.
How did that happen?
Elli:
I applied for the traineeship in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2009 in order to then complete the 2nd state examination there.
School started in February 2010.
That was quite a shock at first.
Away from being a musician and into a super-structured environment.
I had to learn everything again first.
But honestly, it was the best time and the best decision.
In 2012 I finished my teacher training.
I love this job and especially getting young people excited about music.
At that point I barely made my own music until I met my wife Tina in 2015.
She was a teacher trainer in biology and visited my school.
We started talking and discovered that we both wanted to make music.
We quickly arranged to meet for a rehearsal and it quickly became true love.
Craziness!
In June 2019 we celebrated the best wedding you could wish for.
The idea of a shared sabbatical came about pretty quickly after we got together.
The idea became concrete very quickly and after a five-year savings phase, we took a big break for a year in August 2021.
Tina, what did that look like for you?
What is your background?
Tina:
I spent my childhood and school years on the beautiful Lower Rhine, in Kleve, grew up happy and protected and have always experienced a lot of joy in life from home.
Unfortunately, I didn't go to a music high school, but I realized early on that I really enjoyed singing and that music was my passion.
So I founded a gospel choir in 1994.
I noticed that the stage was somehow my home, especially as a soloist in the choir.
As a result, I quickly got in touch with other bands and sang in various other constellations.
In 1998 I started my studies at the German Sports University in Cologne and at the University of Cologne for biology and sport to become a high school teacher.
I quickly changed my course of study to graduate sports science, which I finished in 2004 with a great degree.
At the same time, I studied biology to become a secondary school teacher and completed this in 2006. I couldn't imagine working in rehabilitation clinics permanently, but I could imagine working with young people at school.
From 2006 I was in my legal traineeship and completed my second state examination with top marks, so that shortly afterwards I became a teacher trainer for biology.
Did the connection to music always remain?
Tina:
I always continued to make music and live it.
I have performed at Club Aldiana worldwide and much more.
In 2012 I followed Linda de Mol's call and took part in the show “The winner is”.
I was able to win a million euros.
Unfortunately I narrowly missed it, but I'm still very happy to have made it to the semi-finals.
In 2015 I ran into Elli.
.
.
Walking their path together: Elli Erl (r.) and Tina van Wickeren.
© private
Ms. Erl and Ms. van Wickeren are you for your students.
Does the fact that you perform privately on stages play a role in everyday school life?
And do your students know about your “backstory”?
Elli:
Making music and school somehow go well together.
Strictly speaking, both are a stage on which you have to perform.
A song has an intro, a chorus and a rounded ending - and that's how you have to imagine teaching.
Most of the time it works.
There are so many aspects that can be transferred one-to-one from stage to classroom.
The most important thing is to meet people at eye level and inspire them.
And that at the end you will take something home with you, the catchy tune or the lesson content.
Tina:
Our students know about us and our background.
We are very transparent with ourselves and our lives.
And the students always want our music in a variety of situations.
Alumni also come to our sing-along concerts in the “Furtner” and many students and their parents have already announced their presence at the concert in the Lindenkeller on April 26th.
Let's go back 20 and 12 years respectively.
Participation and victory in DSDS, the semi-final of “The Winner is” on Sat.1.
Would you do it again?
Tina:
Yes, definitely.
This enabled me to gain even more attention and great musician friends.
Elli:
I don't regret anything in my life, but I would like to change parts of the jury.
What have these successes brought you?
Was that more of a curse or a blessing?
Tina:
For me it was just a blessing.
Elli:
For me it was definitely both.
DSDS had a very special stamp through Dieter Bohlen that I couldn't get rid of so easily.
With the music I wanted to make at the time, it was just really difficult to gain a foothold with that label.
It's difficult to explain this briefly and succinctly.
But there were also many positive experiences and encounters that continue to this day.
And that is what it is about.
They traveled around Europe in a camper for a year.
Was there a specific reason for this break?
Tina:
We just wanted to get out.
Pull the plug for a year – when you already have such a great opportunity as a teacher.
You save up for a number of years of your choice so that you can then have a year off and really recharge your batteries.
That was the best decision and simply an indescribably valuable time.
Where did you go and what did you learn when you got back?
Elli:
We started with a trip through France to the Atlantic coast, then we continued via northern Spain to Portugal.
There we drove down the coast to the Algarve and back to Germany via Spain and Switzerland.
That was the first part.
In the second we went skiing to Austria.
Then via Lake Garda, Tuscany to Sardinia, and then travel again to the Atlantic coast of France up to Normandy and back to Cologne.
We have found that we can manage extremely well in small spaces.
When you go through the world openly, you meet so many great new people who become real friends.
Tina:
You just have to be kind to yourself, the people around you and the environment.
All of this is coming back in a concentrated form.
This is what your book “Unplugged” is about.
Have you fulfilled another lifelong dream by publishing it?
Elli:
Absolutely.
The idea for the book came from the blog we wrote for our families.
When we were able to get a publisher interested in it, the idea grew even more rapidly.
We had to let the journey sink in and arrive at our new home, but then one thing led to another and everything took shape incredibly quickly.
In addition to the book, we also recorded our new songs in the studio with our friend and incredible producer Christian Lohr.
By the way, three more coming soon.
The first three are: “There”, “You and I” and “Love and Life”.
How would you classify yourself musically?
How do you manage the balancing act between Cologne dialect and Bavarian texts?
Tina:
Singing in dialect is simply wonderful.
Both in the Cologne dialect and in the Bavarian dialect.
You can also mix the two wonderfully.
We have already written songs in English, Cologne and Bavarian and sang all three languages in one song.
We would probably describe ourselves as singer/songwriters.
Somehow we just like Bavarian.
And we now live in Bavaria.
We basically adapt to the language of those around us.
They are a couple and got married in 2019.
Your song “Love and Life” is also about the difficulties of coming out.
Are they all over?
Or are there still situations that are challenging?
Elli:
This song isn't actually about our coming out, but about that of two friends who are a little older than us and didn't have it that easy.
Nowadays they might just tell their parents and have no problem with it.
And that's how it should be.
Both of our outings were fine so far.
It took a while for us too.
Everything is great today and it couldn't be better.
Actually, it's not a big deal at all and shouldn't be hyped up unnecessarily.
It's just about love and being happy.
No more and no less.
And finally, hand on heart: How queer-friendly is Freising?
Tina:
We haven't had any problems so far.
We always say “Just as you call into the forest, that’s how it comes back”.
If you deal with it normally, and for us our situation is completely normal, the people around you don't perceive you as any different.