Children and youth projects

In the interview with Fiona Gimmel, you can read about how the children's and youth projects enrich the region. Fiona Gimmel and her family have been an integral part of the organisation since the children's projects were created. Thanks to their passion, we can look back on many successful formats.

The children's concerts bring many aspects together. On the one hand, there is of course the piece and the music, which take centre stage at the end. The children encounter classical music, whether on stage or in the audience, and get to know a piece. In my experience, for the children who take part, the music is somewhat secondary at the beginning, if not new. Then the rehearsals begin: they dance, play and sing to the music and in the end many children think the music is cool. When it comes to designing the play, we try to involve the children in as many areas as possible. The children can express their ideas about costumes and set design. They help to make props, paint scenery or even sew costumes. In recent years, the children have also been able to help operate the lights. There are also always children who play in the orchestra. This is possible because there are adults/professionals who trust the children to do this, who support them and help them realise their own ideas. This is an extremely empowering experience for the children. I am glad that these people exist. I always find it nice to see how every child finds their place in a play, there is something for everyone: there are children who just want to dance, there are others for whom it is a big step to take on some lines. Others throw themselves into the main roles and sing a solo at the end, while still others take on important roles backstage: they help a young child to get changed and catch their cue, they rebuild the scenery. There are children who are only on stage for a few minutes but are among the main actors backstage. There are children who are there half an hour before the rehearsal starts to see if they can still help with setting up. Each child finds and looks for a place that picks him or her up where they stand and they grow with their task. And they grow together: At the beginning it is a group of children from different age groups, some of whom don't even know each other, and in the end we have a team in which everyone has their tasks and takes responsibility for the play.

We had a meeting with Roumen Kroumov a few years ago and talked about the children's concerts. He said: ‘It's something that stays with you for life.’ I think this statement sums it up very well, I myself still have passages of lyrics from pieces and melodies in my head that we performed years ago and I'm sure many other festival children feel the same way. It's a unique experience and memory that will stay with you for life: to have the chance to play in front of such a large audience, on this stage, with a real orchestra or even to play with and in this orchestra. Standing on that stage as a child and acting, dancing or even singing a solo. To see how the ideas you had in February for costumes, stage design etc. became reality in August. That's something that stays with you for life.

The Menuhin Festival has been with me all my life. I was five years old and in kindergarten when my mum gave the first children's concert. (Peter and the Wolf with Jörg Schneider) The first time I was on stage was two years later at the Carnival of the Animals as a seahorse. Me and my brother took part for years and the children's concerts were and are an integral part of our family life. I took part in a total of 7 pieces, after which I left school and was too old to play any more. When it came to finding a topic for my final thesis at FMS, I had the idea of designing the set and costumes and writing my thesis about it. So the children's concerts became a family project again. I really enjoy working with my parents. We may not always be of the same opinion, but this always results in great ideas and solutions. We spur each other on and inspire each other. We are now a well-rehearsed team and can sometimes spend hours discussing details. For me, working with the children in particular is extremely enriching. I'm a teacher and working with children at the children's concerts is very different to working in a school context. You get to know each other in a completely different way and the collaboration is much closer. A lot of ideas and energy come from the children and that is very inspiring. For me, working on the children's concerts involves a lot of passion and this energy also comes back from the children. I am grateful to be able to do this work, for myself personally and for the children.