Deutsche
Version: Hier klicken!

By Sepp Moser, kindly translated
by Dietrich Berk

By the town of Bernau our bus enters the autobahn A
8 towards Salzburg. Our tour guide Christoph Puschmann explains:
‚We now enter a German Autobahn.‘ – ‚Yeahhh!‘ – ‚There is no speed
limit…‘ – ‚Wowhhh!!!‘ – ‚…but for our bus there is a speed
limit.‘ – ‚Ooohh….‘ Highways without speed limit are exciting
especially for young Americans. For, on most American Expressways
there is a limit of 55 to 65 mph. So our friends are slightly disappointed
that our bus had to stick to 50 – or was it 56 ? – mph. But then,
that was the only fly in the ointment our guests faced today.

On Feb 24 the group of 23, 14 students, their choir
teacher Lisa Smith, Mayor Mike Fortner and accompanying parents
from West Chicago had arrived in their Sister City of Taufkirchen
(Vils). The students form the West Chicago Community High School
Chamber Choir and will present themselves in three concerts.

Visiting the Catholic Church of Taufkirchen:
West Chicago Chamber Choir, together with their director Lisa
Smith (in front left) and honorary members Mayor Mike Fortner
(back right) and Michael Teachler (back left).

Sunday saw first encounters with host families, followed
by a tour of Taufkirchen on Monday with visits of local institutions
and businesses and a visit of the monthly get together of the partnership
club on Monday evening. Some adults secretly sneak out at night
to the ‚Starkbierprobe‘ at the local brewery (historical annual
tasting of the special seasonal brew). Never has he had better beer
says Mayor Mike Fortner, a professional globetrotting scientist.

By the way, for our juvenile guests alcohol is strictly
off limits during their entire stay; in their presence also the
chaperones stick to soft drinks. At home the serving of alcoholic
beverages to persons under 20 – the age is different between states
in the US – is strictly prohibited. One reason is the prevention
of traffic accidents under the influence of alcohol, a problem especially
among young people who can obtain a driver’s license at 16. ‚We
would have big problems with the school district and the parents,
if this rule weren’t abided by while in Taufkirchen‘ is disclosed
to me by Joanne Smith, Lisa Smith’s mother.

Now on Tuesday they sit in a bus to Salzburg, Austria,
together with some German companions to visit the ‚City of Mozart‘
– as is mandatory for a choir. Also on board is Ernst Bartmann,
founder and leader of the ‚Maennerchor Dorfen‘ (Dorfen Men’s Choir),
who studied clerical music there and presently continues postgraduate
studies.

After
arrival a short city tour begins, of course including ‚Getreidegasse‘
with Mozart’s house of birth. Next stop is the Cathedral with its
world famous five organs. Here Ernst Bartmann is in his very element.
Together with the Resident Organist he impressively demonstrates
the acoustic volume of the church instruments; a very special treat
that only few visitors are privileged to enjoy.

The chamber choir is fascinated of the acoustic circumstances
in the Cathedral. They even got permission to sing. And so they
do – magnificently! It almost seems they would never want to stop.
Back home they have never experienced solid walls with such overwhelming
acoustic qualities.

Lunch begins tardy. And it lasts – no time left for
the originally planned tour of the Burg (Castle). Most Americans
take it easy. They were compensated by another local specialty:
For desert, there is ‚Salzburger Nockerl‘ (can only be tried, not
explained).

Ride home and an evening reception at Taufkirchen Town
Hall: Some look rather weary and tired after this eventful day.

Wednesday morning the group meets for a visit of Taufkirchen’s
Main School, in the afternoon they ride to Freising for their first
concert.

The second concert is scheduled next evening in Dorfen.
The chamber choir, the Dorfen High School’s Big Band and Percussion
Group take turns on stage. The result is a roundabout perfect, partly
touching evening. A Dorfen music teacher wouldn’t believe the American
choir singers in their majority were 16 to 17 year old teenagers.
Bringing a multi-voice choir to this level takes years. When she
learns that the kids and their teacher Lisa Smith rehearse voluntarily
one hour before school every day, she is both consoled and astonished.

The next evening sees an even more astonished Bavarian
State Minister of Science, Research and Arts, Hans Zehetmair. Preceding
a local pre-election party rally he would not leave out the opportunity
to visit Taufkirchen’s youth center, our US-guests venue this Friday
night.

Shake hands: Bavarian State Minister Hans Zehetmair
and Don Smith, President of the West Chicago Sister City Committee
(to the left), and choir director Lisa Smith (to the right), respectively.

After listening to a welcome song, the Minister extensively
talks with the American kids. They compare musical education opportunities
here and there. Upon an according question all choir members explain
their professional ambitions.

Lisa Smith tells about the chamber choir being one
of four choirs with 130 members at their local High School, all
of them being in her command. When Mayor Mike Fortner, honorary
choir member himself, explains that the school despite it’s musical
activities is determined to general education, the Minister is once
again astonished. In Bavaria, for musical education there are three
music colleges and several conservatories – yes, and the state is
proud to have educated one like Anne-Sophie Mutter: ‚You certainly
know this famous violin player.‘ Oh yes, one knows her.

It’s a merry get-together in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Many pictures are taken for memories.

Guests at the youth center of Taufkirchen (in front,
from right side): Choir director Lisa Smith, choir member, West
Chicago’s Mayor Mike Fortner, Bavarian State Minister Hans Zehetmair,
Taufkirchen’s Mayor Franz Hofstetter, Dietrich Berk, President of
the Taufkirchen Partnership Club, and Christoph Puschmann, local
organizer of the tour program.

The day after, on Saturday, as the highlight of the
visit, the big concert night comes up. A crowd of near 500 almost
busts the Community Center. Don Smith, President of the West Chicago
Sister City Committee and his German counterpart of the Taufkirchen
partnership club, Dietrich Berk, welcome the audience. Also, both
mayors, Mike Fortner and Franz Hofstetter, express their greetings
and thanks to the public. By the way, Mayor Fortner’s speech in
both German and English is in the internet, just click www.physics.niu.edu/~fortner/choir/.

For a starter the chamber choir served ‚Welcome Sweet
Pleasure‘. The onward repertoire is a colorful mix: Classical pieces,
a German folksong, spirituals and musical songs. Some of the songs
are accompanied by Karen Treachler (piano) and there was a wonderful
‚Amazing Grace‘ by Karen Treachler and Lisa Smith (flute). In between
the ‚Gebensbacher Trachtler‘, a local, original Bavarian folk dance
group, the ‚Liedertafel‘, Taufkirchen’s traditional adult’s choir,
the protestant youth choir ‚Altogether‘ and the Dorfen Men’s Choir
had their parts in the concert.

As the closing highlight the chamber choir once more
gave proof of its versatility: The spiritual ‚Praise his Holy Name‘
was accompanied by the audience’s fervent, rhythmic clapping.

What an evening! If need had been for another proof
of the audience’s satisfaction and enthusiasm – the generous donations
voluntarily given upon exit had been it. With the funds raised part
of the itinerary expenses will be covered. By the way, on initiative
of President Jody Taylor, the parents‘ foster club for the High
School Choirs of West Chicago has covered half of the students‘
airfares. Otherwise for most of the kids funding the trip would
have been much more of a problem.

On the evening of the local elections, the last day
of the trip, a farewell party in the Castle’s ‚Fuggersaal‘ was the
occasion for reviews and an exchange of ideas and experiences. To
the conviction of the visits initiator, Mayor Mike Fortner, group
visits are an important vehicle to keep the dynamics of the partnership
alive and to promote individual personal relations. Also he considers
reports and narratives by the group vital for better knowledge of
each other and international understanding.

Among kids on either side it was a surprise to discover
many common interests such as sports, websurfing and music. Asked
for special impressions, our young guests often mentioned the hilly
countryside, they themselves only being used to plains. And another
one: carbonated water really being drinkable. Would that be a marketing
opportunity for the local brewery…?