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Cologne youth choir inspires in Munich: A festival full of singing and community
Cologne youth choir travels to Munich for the Pueri Cantores festival: singing, community and international encounters await the participants.
Cologne youth choir inspires in Munich: A festival full of singing and community
There is currently a music-filled atmosphere in Munich that delights even the most demanding music lovers. At the large-scale “Pueri Cantores” festival, the participating choirs, including the girls from the Cologne-Dellbrück/Holweide Catholic youth choirs, experience unforgettable moments of singing together and meeting each other. Anja Dewey, pastoral musician from Cologne, describes the city during the festival as a place where singing is omnipresent - be it in the streets, in the subway, in hotels or during large events.
The festival started on Tuesday with a celebratory sending-out ceremony in Cologne Cathedral, before the choirs came together on Wednesday evening at Marienplatz in Munich for an impressive opening with almost 4,500 singers from 18 nations. Such scenes strengthen community and show the power of music to build bridges between cultures.
An unforgettable experience
The young singers, aged between 11 and 17, enjoy the shared experience in the large community. At a German-language service attended by 600 to 700 young people, everyone felt the power of collective singing. “It’s like a big community act that connects us all together,” says Dewey. The singers also enjoy spontaneous musical encounters, which even took place on the train platform and in the subway.
A special moment was an open singing on Marienplatz, which thrilled people with, among other things, movement and body percussion. The participants really appreciate this form of creative expression. A card game with 200 cards was also introduced throughout the festival, which promotes exchange between the choirs.
Exciting programs until the end of the festival
The festival extends until Sunday, and the planned activities are a real highlight: In addition to encounter concerts with other choirs, there are workshops, such as one with Congolese rhythms. Participants can also look forward to gala concerts and take a trip to Oberschleißheim. The final service, celebrated by Cardinal Marx, will take place on Sunday at 10 a.m. on Marienplatz.
The commitment to the musical education and training of young people is supported by the German Choir Association Pueri Cantores and many other supporters from various dioceses. Over 2,700 children and young people actively take part in the festival, which underlines the impressive commitment to a diverse children's and youth choir culture. This culture is not only a cultural asset, but also contributes significantly to society and the development of democratic values, as found in a recent study by the German Music Information Center. It also emphasizes that 50% of children and young people regularly make music and 37% sing in choirs.
The German Music Council also promotes musical education and sees choirs as important opportunities for young people to develop. In this context, the voices of children and young people are not only instruments of singing, but also tools for personal and community development.
The coming days promise many more musical highlights, and we can only look forward to seeing what spontaneous encounters and great experiences the participants will have during the festival.