German Music Festival in Chemnitz ends with grand finale

More than 300 events - concerts, competitions, lectures and symposia - culminated in today's joint concert by around 3,000 musicians on Chemnitz's Theatre Square. The Chemnitz Festival Call, a piece specially composed by Hans Hütten for the music festival, was also presented. Minister President Stanislaw Tillich, the President of the Federal Association of German Music Associations (BDMV), Siegfried Kauder, and Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig thanked all those involved and accompanied the subsequent grand parade to the market square.

Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The motto was: Sing your heart out - and that's exactly what the participants and guests did. The diversity of voices, the different colours of sound, the rhythms - it turned into an incredible festival for four days. There was so much life in the city, so much enthusiasm, joy and exuberance in the streets and squares. So thank you! To the musicians who not only made this city resound, but made it celebrate. Thank you! To the countless visitors who turned these four days into a Chemnitz Festival. And thanks to the many organisers, the volunteers in the background, without whom such an event would never have been possible. Chemnitz was the capital of music for four days - and I hope that all the musicians will take a piece of Chemnitz home with them in their hearts. Along with the goodbye, I would definitely like to extend a warm invitation to come back again."

"You reach people's hearts when you are among them. We were there for four days. We felt at home in Chemnitz," said BDMV President Siegfried Kauder. "We were able to showcase the diversity of brass music - and nobody claims that it is outdated. "

In addition to the community concert and the subsequent grand parade on Sunday, the German Music Festival had many other highlights. For example, the big family gala with Gerhard Schöne, the performance by the brass band, the concert of thanks for the Saxon teachers, the concert by the Big Band of the German Armed Forces and much more. In addition, a large number of open-air concerts, smaller performances and spontaneous concerts made the city resound in a wide variety of places.

Numerous Chemnitz players and organisations also enriched the music festival with the "Chemnitz Window", for example the Chemnitz Municipal Music School, the TIETZ, the Chemnitz Municipal Theatre, the Parkeisenbahn Chemnitz gGmbH, the Weltecho, the Chemnitz museums, the players of the carillon in the tower of the New Town Hall and many of the city's cultural associations, choirs and ensembles put on a varied programme. In total, over 25,000 guests attended the events organised by the city.

One of the highlights of the Chemnitz Window was the joint concert by orchestras and bands from Chemnitz's twin cities. This included the jazz band from the University of Akron, the Lodz Youth Wind Orchestra, the Blackley Band from Manchester, the jazz band of the St. Bartholomew's Music Association from Mulhouse, the jazz band of the St. Bartholomew's Music Association from Mulhouse, the jazz band of the St. Bartholomew's Music Association from Chemnitz and the jazz band of the St. Bartholomew's Music Association from Chemnitz. Bartholomew from Mulhouse, the folklore ensemble from Taiyuan, Pekko Käppi and group from Tampere, the wind orchestra Mladà Dechovka from Usti nad Labem and the folklore group "Lasorewyie Sori" from Volgograd.

The German Music Festival was organised by the Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Musikverbände e.V. (BDMV). The festival was supported by the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung together with Sparkasse Chemnitz, the federal government, the Free State of Saxony, the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen, Verbundnetz Gas AG and eins energie in sachsen, among others.