Learning to sing, learning to live

In 2018, the Landestheater’s children’s choir celebrated its tenth anniversary – though it was actually founded back in 2006 by Karl Kamper. The Salzburg Festival initiated a similar project in 2008 with Wolfgang Götz. When the two choirs joined forces in 2010, it soon became clear how valuable a single, strong and stable children’s choir could be.

With around 200 young voices, the Salzburg Festival and Theater Children’s Choir is a vibrant musical community, divided into core and preparatory groups, as well as a concert choir and a youth choir. Each child takes part in a weekly basic choir rehearsal, from which seasonal project choirs are formed. Some of them have been part of the choir for more than half their lives.

"They come to us as little children and grow into teenagers, so I sometimes become an important figure for them, even without being close friends. For example, there’s a boy I’ve known since he was very young. There have been times when his parents called me because he was having difficulties during puberty and struggling at school. But he always came to choir rehearsals regularly, and now that he’s past puberty, he’s one of our most reliable members. The bond is very strong. You can see it in how the older kids look after the younger ones, or how the boys support those going through the challenging voice-change phase. There is a very specific set of requirements, and it’s not just about vocal ability, as many think. Self-discipline, concentration, and social behavior are crucial when selecting children. We do professionalize the kids, but it happens on a natural basis.

Working with children is fundamentally different. For example, if you mentally prepare for the possibility that one of them might get nauseous from excitement, you can almost be certain it will happen during the performance. Or when we practice what to do if someone suddenly faints. You can’t give children responsibilities that are unmanageable—you always have to think ahead and plan a safety net. My job is to mediate between the world of theater, which demands professional performance, and the world of children. That means I have to guide the children toward discipline, and in return, I have to communicate to the professional staff: These are children, and we need to take that into consideration."