The Thomaners
The Normal Life
The Thomaners live, learn and rehearse in the Thomanerchor boarding school. The building has been located on Hillerstrasse, in the so-called music quarter, since 1893. The central and most important place of the boarding school is the large rehearsal hall where music is performed daily. From small vocal groups to full choir rehearsals with orchestra take place in the hall, which was newly built in 2011. The acoustics are designed for choral singing. The modern ventilation system allows rehearsals to take place even during the coronavirus pandemic. Directly adjacent is the daylight-flooded dining room, where the singers come together three times a day for meals.
The Thomaners live together in shared flats, the so-called “Stuben”. Four two- or three-bed rooms form a shared flat and share a large common area and the same sanitary facilities. There is room for homework and personal hobbies as well as sufficient space for joint activities. The in-house soccer pitch with real grass is an important meeting point for all football-loving boys. Young and old play together here and there are regular tournaments. There is also a modern gym on the top floor of the Alummnat for sports activities. Volleyball, basketball, field hockey and other sports can be played there. There is also a fitness room where students can work out under supervision. A dedicated computer lab, a cozy reading room, a workshop and a kitchen in the Villa thomana as well as a variety of common rooms offer space for rest and creative activities in your free time.
The Musical Training
The full choir rehearsals, in which the tireless commitment of the young singers comes to the fore, are usually preceded by group rehearsals under the direction of the Thomaskantor, his musical assistant and also the prefects. Constant practice is required to achieve the wonderfully differentiated sound that Johann Sebastian Bach’s vocal polyphony demands. The singers are simultaneously trained to sight-read, to be rhythmically precise and to pay attention to the conductor in order to adopt entries, phrasing, dynamics and gestures so that the music comes alive.
Another core element of the training is the individual weekly voice training that all Thomaners receive (in an adapted form, also during the voice break) from the employed teachers. Together with the Thomaskantor and his musical assistant, the voice coaches accompany the individual development of all singers. Particularly talented Thomaners also receive additional training as soloists. In the boarding school and in the Villa thomana, all Thomaners receive weekly piano lessons from experienced music teachers. Other instruments can be learned on request. For this purpose, the choir has a selection of its own high-quality instruments at its disposal.
“It is important and right that children and young people engage with the most mature and profound compositions of our culture. Singing is our “most personal instrument”, as we always
we always carry our voice with us. When singing in the Thomanerchor, the singers learn to listen to each other, to interact with each other in alumni life and to fit into a group,” says Thomaskantor Andreas Reize
The School Education
From grammar school level (Year 5) onwards, the Thomasschule, a grammar school run by the city of Leipzig and the oldest public school in Germany, is responsible for the Thomaners’ education. There, the Thomaners learn in mixed “Thomaners’ Classes” (TM classes) and receive special academic and musical support. Training to become a Thomaner can begin as early as Year 1 in the partner elementary school of the Leipzig Thomanerchor, the Anna Magdalena Bach School or the forum thomanum e.V. elementary school. If the youngest Thomaners join the Thomanerchor at the beginning of year 4, they continue to learn in the Thomaner classes of the two elementary school and receive their musical lessons in the Thomanerchor’s boarding school.
You can find more information about our partner schools online:
www.thomasschule.de
www.amb-grundschule-leipzig.de
www.forum-thomanum.de
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