The Junge Oper Leipzig and the Bariş için Müzik (Music for Peace) Foundation in Istanbul have released a new music video they completed together. Their history of collaboration dates back to 2016 and consists of an exchange of experiences and joint project days, when the children and adolescents involved rehearse, perform, and give concerts. An eagerly anticipated visit in Leipzig by the members of Bariş için Müzik had to be pushed back due to the pandemic; any joint music making was relegated to a digital, socially distanced, and technology-based world. Thanks to the kind support of the Deutsch-Türkische Jugendbrücke (German-Turkish Youth Bridge), it is possible for the two entities to produce a second music video and release it online free of charge. You can find the video on YouTube and on each institution’s website. The project is a geographic, linguistic, and musical mashup: The Children’s Chorus of the Oper Leipzig sing “Zum Tanze da geht ein Mädel,”a Swedish dance tune, and the Barış için Müzik Chorus and Orchestra sing and play “Çay Elinden Öteye,”a Turkish folksong. Both songs are interwoven together and provide the soundtrack to a video recorded by the children themselves, with scenes from schooling at home, free time activities, and past joint projects, including sound experiences and rhythmic exercises. And it all ends together – in German, English and Turkish – with one motto: “Always watch out for the beat!”

A total of 85 children and adolescents from Leipzig and Istanbul (not including adults and the background crew) worked on this video. The concept, sound, and video editing were provided by Leipzig musician Maria Hinze.  She and Sophie Bauer, the director of the Children and Youth Choirs of the Oper Leipzig oversaw the intense preparation and finishing touches from Germany. In regard to the successful collaboration between Istanbul and Leipzig, Sophie Bauer says, “Thanks to this new and very innovative video experiment, we were able to connect and keep in touch with one another musically and personally. In a way, we pass a bit of hope back and forth.”

The aim of the Barış için Müzik Foundation is to provide as many as children as possible with the opportunity to learn an instrument free of charge. As a result, children from socially disadvantaged families are also able to access music. This collaboration came about thanks to a long-standing friendship between two families: the Enka family, who support Barış için Müzik, and the family of music pedagogue Martina Hindricks, who oversees Leipzig Opera’s youngest singers under the age of 7.

www.barisicinmuzik.org

www.oper-leipzig.de

www.oper-leipzig.de/en/junge-oper-leipzig-vorhang-auf

Further Junge Oper Leipzig news

STAGE GAMES WITH THE JUGENDTHEATERCLUB

The Junge Oper Leipzig has produced three videos, designed for audiences to join in and put a spring in your step.  The Junge Oper Leipzig team recommends their “Wachermachlied” (“Wake-up Song”) to gently get you going, before you start exercising to “Si ma ma kaa.” Once your head is clear and your body warmed-up, you’ll be in the mood for some “Improvisations!” Your hosts – and the source of inspiration for these three videos – are the members of the Children’s Chorus of the Oper Leipzig and the members of the Jugendtheaterclub at the Musikalische Komödie.

CURTAIN UP WITH FUZZEL

Lean back and take in this mini-series full of music and scenic surprises: our children’s chorus is ready to explore the Opera House with Fuzzel. Who’s Fuzzel, you ask? A cheeky dust bunny, er, rather, cheeky dust [WORT] who knows all of the Opera House’s secrets…and can’t wait to share them!

Find these videos and more at www.oper-leipzig.de/en/junge-oper-leipzig-vorhang-auf

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