The Klassenkonzert/Class Concert 10a was held in the music classroom on the 5th floor of the Gymnasium. It was warm and most of the windows were closed, thus, we were warm! The class specializes in music and this was their end of the year concert. As mentioned previously, Emily was invited to participate in this concert. The concert was a mixture of music history reports and biographies. They performed works from Monteverdi, Handel, Gluck, Mozart, and Bizet.
There are about 20 students in the class. Each week they sing, study music theory, music history and play their instruments. The format is completely different than at an American High School where performance in large groups is the main goal. We were "warned" by those who had visited High School in Ann Arbor, that the level of proficiency is "not as high" here in Tuebingen. I found the performances musical and appreciated the different focus. It was another wonderful lesson on letting go of "perfection". We all enjoyed the concert and the reports given by the various students. And Emily had a great time jumping in and performing after 3 days in the class!
After the concert we discovered our way to an area of town we had not yet visited. Our goal was to find the Theatre where the Progressive Americans of Tuebingen andFriedensstadt Tuebingen held a Peace/Anti-War Evening of music, speeches, and famous people.
Here is a link to an interview with Andre Shepard who spoke that evening...he is a US Army deserter requesting asylum in Germany (note: the YouTube has upsetting photos at the beginning and the end, but not during the interview of Andre).
For more info: www.connection-ev.de/en_aktion-usa.php
I came home to read more about those who participated and what they stand for, since much was spoken of course in German. I was and am amazed by the experiences of these people. Here is what I found out:
Ismail Khatib und Marcus Vetter - "das Herz von Jenin"
