The intercultural Orchester con anima Freiburg was founded in January 2018 by Carola Christ and Pascale Jonczyk, two students at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Their vision: providing a platform for all people who want to play music – no matter what their age or cultural, social, or educational background.

 

The orchestra consists of young adults – some with and some of them without migration background – who play together and work on a versatile repertoire ranging from European classical pieces and movie soundtracks to arrangements of songs from the members’ home countries. As students, the young adults learn how to play an instrument in both one-on-one and group settings, and they get to play as part of the orchestra from the very beginning. Professional teaching and supervision are provided by music students of Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.

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Besides fostering intercultural exchange, the concept of Orchester con anima also centers around personality building of the individual by letting them take responsibility: on the one hand the young adults are taught the basics of playing their instruments, but they also learn how to handle those instruments with good care. By rehearsing together as a group, the orchestra members train not only their creativity, but also their general perseverance in learning processes. The interactional nature of orchestral music helps them develop important cooperative and social skills. With its social orientation, Orchester con anima is based on the concept of the Venezuelan project El Sistema.

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Once a month, we offer workshops that cover different music-related topics: such can be trips to visit a violin maker, experiments with improvisation, soundpainting, and the basics of composing, as well as discussions on musical education, famous musicians, or the role of music in different countries and regions.