Clean sounds inspired others to follow suit

Charity concert featuring the Kassel Army Band and an inter-school “workshop band”

Planning had been underway for three years, but due to the pandemic, there were repeated setbacks for the benefit concert featuring the Kassel Army Band at the Steinmühle. The performance on a beautiful summer evening in the school’s forum finally rewarded the musicians of Hesse’s only military orchestra for their patience—and not just them, but also the Steinmühle concert band, which performed alongside them. In a one-day workshop leading up to the event, both groups rehearsed together and showcased the results of their collaboration. The audience was amazed and applauded the outstanding performance of the pieces they had rehearsed together on such short notice.

Music connoisseurs know that crystal-clear tones are the hallmark of a concert by the 50-member Army Band. Professional musicians perform here at a high level. For a school to establish a collaboration—even if only brief—can be a tremendous source of motivation for its own students! That’s why the “workshop band” wasn’t made up solely of students from Steinmühlen. About half of the participants were young musicians from other schools in Marburg who took advantage of this opportunity for musical exchange—specifically, students from the Elisabethschule, the Freie Waldorfschule, the Gymnasium Philippinum, the Martin Luther Schule, and the Edertalschule in Frankenberg. Music school teacher Stephan Reissig and Lieutenant Colonel Tobias Terhardt took the lead for the combined group. The audience honored the harmonious collaboration between the two bands with enthusiastic applause.

Afterward, the conductor’s instructions were directed solely at the Army Music Corps, whose chamber ensembles performed that evening. The Steinmühlenforum drew about 100 attendees—who applauded with such enthusiasm that one might have thought the audience was twice as large. There were standing ovations for the pieces performed on the euphonium and trumpet, the clarinet, piano, and other instruments. And encores, of course. The repertoire ranged from pop to classical, from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra, and from gospel to jazz.

In addition to the joint musical performance by several Marburg schools and the musical inspiration provided by professional musicians, the evening’s third purpose—which had already been highlighted in the event’s title—came to the fore: a benefit concert. This initiative also yielded a positive result. Over 2,000 euros were raised through ticket sales. Half of the money will go to the surviving family members and relatives of fallen and wounded soldiers through a support association in Stadtallendorf, while the other half will go to the youth department of the Marburg Music School. This funding will support young brass players.

“We are delighted that our benefit concert was a success on several levels,” said Gisela Falk, current president of the organizing Rotary Club of Marburg. Björn Gemmer, the school principal and also a Rotary member, can already envision repeating the concert in the same format.