The week began with the Wind Symphony presenting their fireside repertoire for sacrament meeting in the Freiberg Ward, which meets in the shadow of the Freiberg Temple. As the weekend came to a close the group learned they had been filmed to be replayed on local TV.
The next concert was in Eisenhuttenstadt, Germany, a show city of the former East Germany. Attendees of the concert included the mayor and an FDR party representative. Also in attendance were the leaders of two schools that received a portion of the proceeds to help their schools. One of the schools that received benefit from the concert is a special music school for young children. After three standing ovations and two encores, children from the music school surprised the members of the Wind Symphony by coming on stage with gifts of chocolate to say thank you for the concert.
After the concert in Eisenhuttenstadt, the first counselor in the stake presidency said that people were amazed at how these young people could play such good music and have it carry over into the audience. The audience felt of their musicianship and spirit.
The first counselor was amazed at the impact the symphony had. It is difficult to live in the branch because everyone is leaving this former industrial city. The members here were grateful for the musicianship and spirit of the students in the Wind Symphony.
One fun side event in Eisenhuttenstadt happened when a young music school student joined a small combo of BYU students prior to the concert in front of the theater for a few numbers.
This week has also seen the Wind Symphony meet with the young single adults in Berlin and Dortmund. These events are made up of the two groups of young people eating together, music, rhythmic games, and testimonies. At these events, there have been several young single adults who have been less active but have ventured out to participate and reconnect a little with the Church.
Culturally, the group has climbed to the top of the spires at the cathedral in Cologne, visited the Berlin Wall along with other major sites in Berlin, and had lunch in Wolfenbuttel, Germany, a picturesque town where the buildings are half timbered dating back as far as the 1600's.
As this email is sent out, the group is preparing for their concert in Dortmund. The group is looking forward to the next week with five more concerts, a fireside, and two young single adult events.
Source: Performing Arts Management