On a warm Saturday morning in Wilmington, down in the basement of First and Central Presbyterian Church, an orchestra is tuning up. With the instruments mostly in tune, conductor Martin Klüh warms the orchestra up slowly.
Slowly, because this particular orchestra is probably a little jetlagged. They’re a youth orchestra from Fulda, a city of about 65,000 in central Germany. And, they just touched down in the US last night, with a concert seven days away.
With the warmup completed, Klüh gives some instructions from the podium in German and begins to work the orchestra through the music. He stops them almost immediately, aiming to get the first drumroll just right.
As the rehearsal continues, the other half of the ensemble files in - several dozen members of the Wilmington Children’s Chorus. While both the chorus and the orchestra have been rehearsing separately for months, this is the first time they’ve been in the same room together. Children’s Chorus Associate Director Ariel Alvarado takes the podium.
This visit by the Fulda Youth Orchestra is the latest installment in a partnership between the orchestra and the Wilmington Children’s Chorus that dates back more than a decade.
“This is something that's been a part of our choir culture since 2011," says the chorus’s Artistic Director Kimberly Doucette. "Every other year we have a cultural exchange where either we go to Germany, to Fulda, our sister city, and visit our orchestra friends there or on the off two years they come here to visit Wilmington.”
Klüh, the orchestra’s conductor, says that after months of rehearsal on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s kind of a magical moment when the orchestra and chorus finally come together.
"We come up with a program over the distance," he says. "We toss around a few ideas, and then we start rehearsing on both sides of the Atlantic, and this is the first rehearsal and, it's amazing how things work together.”
One challenge the combined ensemble faces in rehearsals is the language barrier. The children’s chorus is made up of English speakers. Most of the orchestra is made up of native German speakers. No problem, says Klüh. Many of the musicians in the orchestra speak English as well. Sometimes, Klüh lends a hand as well.
“Every now and then we do need to translate, and then I jump in and translate it into German.”
Klüh isn’t the only conductor, however. Kimberly Doucette says the musicians are going to see several different conductors on the podium.
“We have a number of conductors of the Wilmington Children's Chorus because we actually work with over 750 children in our whole program. So we're always switching back and forth,' she sayd. "There's myself, the artistic director of the children's chorus. Phillip Doucette is my husband, but also my partner in crime here at the Wilmington Children's Chorus. He's our associate director. And Ariel Alvarado is our assistant director.”
It’s not all work and no play for the musicians, however. This is, after all, a cultural exchange. In between rehearsals, the performers will also be taking a few field trips.
“Sure, music is culture, definitely, but we are not only rehearsing, we also meet with families," Klüh says. "We’ll take a trip to Washington. And I think we’re going to the beach.”
Still, for the musicians in the orchestra and the chorus, the biggest thrill may come from something that they don’t get to do very often - playing in a combined symphonic/choral ensemble. It’s fun, and also educational.
“If you have to accompany a choir and understand how it works together and how it is a give and take and you change your role, that's always a great experience," Klüh says.
Kimberly Doucette agrees.
“It is pretty rare to get all these kinds of forces together, so it is really special to be able to share orchestral music with young musicians. It's a really unique process," she says. "It's also fun as a choral conductor.”
Back in the church basement, rehearsal is wrapping up. The orchestra has played their way through around half a dozen pieces in a little over an hour.
These are just run-throughs. The real work - nailing the balance, intonation, and phrasing in detail is still to come. But first, lunch and a chance for chorus and orchestra to get to know each other and build a new, harmonious relationship.
The Wilmington Children’s Chorus and the Fulda Youth Orchestra perform on Saturday at 3:00 at Wilmington Friends School. Admission is free, but donations are requested.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
