Around 35 children, teenagers and young adults belong to the youth music corps of the Großen-Linden Volunteer Fire Brigade. An ensemble that regularly demonstrates its skills at events and parades in the region and beyond. Stadtwerke Gießen supported the organisation with a donation towards the purchase of a new instrument.
With timpani, trumpets, cymbals and other wind and percussion instruments, the youth music corps of the Großen-Linden volunteer fire brigade has already thrilled many thousands of listeners - at charity events, concerts and parades. "35 young musicians playing challenging pieces on the street and marching at the same time is something that doesn't happen that often," assures Friedel Mehl, 2nd Chairman of the Großen-Linden Volunteer Fire Brigade Music Corps.
Just how well the children, teenagers and young adults aged between eight and 20 harmonise is demonstrated by their performance at the 2011 German Cup, where they took third place in the marching category and second place in the concert category - in the adult class. The players from the Großen-Linden club took the top two places - and thus became double German Cup winners. "Anyone who is enthusiastic about music and experiences a performance will become a fan of the music corps," says Christian Mehl from the Purchasing & Materials Management department at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). He experienced this himself around 13 years ago. "My brother had been playing in the Großen-Linden volunteer fire brigade's band for a few years back then. After a performance I accompanied him to, I wanted to join in too," explains the SWG employee, who then began to learn the trumpet.
A new cymbal for the next generation
He has now mastered the instrument and is a member of the music corps of the volunteer fire brigade association. As youth leader, he learnt that the youth section needed a new marching cymbal and accessories. Friedel Mehl explains: "The old instrument was too small and therefore had too little sound volume. We therefore needed to purchase a larger marching cymbal." Christian Mehl suggested supporting the association and the young musicians with one of SWG's 75 good deeds for this purchase. "The girls and boys practise with so much ambition and diligence and represent the region far beyond the borders of Central Hesse. That deserves help and recognition," explains the Stadtwerke employee.
On Monday 30 September, Christian Mehl presented Friedel Mehl with a symbolic donation cheque for a marching pool with accessories. The 2nd Chairman of the music corps of the Großen-Linden Volunteer Fire Brigade Association expressed his thanks and talked about the first major use of the instrument: "You could already hear the difference at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade/Netherlands, the world championship for clubs with wind and percussion instruments."