A Ribbon round the World
Grafik: Lui Filella, Unicef
At noon on the 17th of July 2010 in the Gruga Park in Essen, two children’s choirs (Die Rattenfänger from Essen-Heisingen (D) and Sypsena from Vilnius (LT)) will be breaking into song to create a "Ribbon round the World". Just as in the Olympic torch run, the song will be handed on from children’s choir to children’s choir following the course of the sun, and carried around the world in 24 hours.
At first it will travel westwards, via Europe and Africa to North and South America, passing the inter-national date line in the Pacific, and reaching New Zealand at around two o’clock in the morning, central European time. It will then return to Europe via Australia and Asia, ending up in Greece, the cradle of the European Capital of Culture philosophy and the musical home of the melody. "A Ribbon round the World" is a traditional Greek dance song, expressing in clear childlike words all the things which bind people and cultures together. Before this global song begins its travels around the Earth in 2010 it will have been distributed in Greek, German, French and English language versions to children’s choirs in the Ruhr Metropolis. From there it will have been passed on to choirs in the twin towns. In summer 2009 Die Rattenfänger made friends with the children from Sypsena in Vilnius. In 2010 the Lithuanian children will be guests in Essen, where the choirs will be performing joint concerts featuring German and Lithuanian songs.
Event:
July 17, 2010: 11 am / 0 € / Gruga-Park Essen
Project:
Georg Hellersberg & Almuth Hett, Heisinger Kinderchor "Die Rattenfänger" (D)
Partner:
Kinderchor Sypsena, Vilnius (LT) / Europa-Grundschule Krakau (PL) / Antonia Frolova, Chorleiterin, Vita, (RUS) / Prof. Tigran Hekekyan, Little Singers of Armenia, Yerevan (ARM) / Panagiotis Kalywis, Grundschule Agias Paraskevis, Athen (GR) / Hans Ullrich Koch, Hoffnungsklänge e. V., Musikschule Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro (BR) / Oleg Krolikov, Stadt Smolensk (RUS) / Erasto Luanda, Elu Children Care School, Morogoro (EAT) / Andrej Petrow, Kinderchor der Schule für Kunst Nr. 1332, Moskau (RUS) / Sylwia Pochmara-Hahnkamp, Kinderchor der Schule, Olstyn (PL) / Igor Popov, Konakovo Boys and Youth Choir School, Konakovo (RUS) / Livia Promodou, Epilogi Children's Choir, Limassol (CY) / Zbigniew Rau, Stadt Zabrze (PL) / Sabine Scholl, Aktionsgruppe "Kinder in Not" e. V. (D) / Valparaiso (RC) / Gabriella Thesz, Hungarian Radio Children's Choir (H) / Christoph Weßkamp, Steeler Kinderchor, Essen (D)