“Global Unity and Future Hope
Dear friends!
The World Youth Choir was once a dream and a vision shared by many in a time where it was extremely difficult for many countries all over the world. In this year of 2009, we have celebrated two strong and symbolic events that took place in 1989 - the realization of the dream World Youth Choir and the breaking down of the wall symbolizing the Iron curtain. For Stefan Sköld and myself who poured our hearts in the process with the ground work, it was a dream come true to help out in the birth process of this wonderful vision - to unite young souls and voices from all over the world. We are today grateful for the wonderful work that IFCM, Europa Cantat and Jeunesses Musicales together have done bringing this child up to what it represents today - the very sound and strong sounding symbol for the ideology that music is all about humanity! It means the world to us! We hope that all the children of the vision with World Youth Choir will adopt that vision and relentlessly work for humanity with music as the instrument - thus we can make a difference! Meeting all wonderful singers from WYC - and particularly from the very first WYC in Örebro - made a great impact on me. You all reminded me of the beauty of humanity and music in perfect harmony. Let's hope for another reunion very soon! Thank you! I would like to finish with two verses from a poem sent to us in 1989 after the first assembly of the World Youth Choir by Alec Jackson - our wonderful English tenor.”
United, we rise
A melody
A lyric of greatest depth
The most beautiful song
We are the hope
We are the unity
We have the love
We are the new seeds in the heart of our countries
We will last forever
Stefan Sköld, Thomas Caplin,
Founders of the World Youth Choir
“What an emotion in Orebro... so many faces I didn't see for 20 years... and how strong the friendship and network has remained! I was far to imagine how the project would develop when I decided in 1990 to take over the management of World Youth Choir, a project that Jeunesses Musicales Sweden had started in 1989. I am very proud of the work accomplished and I am also very moved by the real worldwide network the World Youth Choir has created among young very talented singers. I wish that the project will continue for the next 20 years to be a place for high level music education, intercultural exchange, global unity, and factor of arts development and may the alumni of the 20 past years, together with the patrons help to contribute to those goals and aims. Long life to the World Youth Choir!”
Jean-Claude Wilkens, Belgium
Founder and the manager of the World Youth Choir, 1990-1999
“I'm a system administrator from an engineering company in Germany. In Örebro I had the chance to escape my nutshell and share my voice with friends from all over the world, which I've last seen 20 years ago. Singing in this choir on that high level is amazing. Feelings - overwhelming. These are the real big moments of my live, I'll never forget. It feels like another world. A world of unity and freedom, nations joined. These projects and celebrations must continue for the next generations. Give all singers the chance to unite the world.”
Christoph Jandek, Germany
World Youth Choir 1989
“For me this meeting was one of the greatest events in my life. I never have been crying so many tears of joy in my entire life. It maybe was not just the choir. I sometimes did have some emotionally very hard times in the last 15 years with lots of changes and crisis, especially in the last year. So, probably it was a mixture of emotions that came over me and it often overwhelmed me. Nevertheless now something came up again that had completely occupied my heart 20 years ago. And on the one side there was this paradise-like atmosphere. I felt this optimistic and idealistic power of the youth again. On the other side I met so many new singers and realized that I’m not that young anymore. But nevertheless: the fantastic thing was, that we sang together. It wasn`t just a meeting with stories of old times. It was a meeting to continue in what we have done before: sing on an extraordinary good level and meet lovely people from all over the world. That is fantastic and it has to go on! It can help to build up a network of former singers who may support the organization and performance of the WYC sessions all over the world and keep the idea of the World Youth Choir running!”
Heiner Geerlings, Germany, World Youth Choir 1989
Music teacher, secondary school Otto- Hahn- Schule for children of 50 different nationalities, Frankfurt, Germany
“The World Youth Choir is still The World Youth Choir, 20 years later! - With its professional sound made in peace and harmony, from young people around the world. A joy to see, for a former participant, that the choir is in its good shape, as it was when it started in 1989. This also means, the management behind is doing its job to make this choir alive. The world needs this choir! Not only for the music aspect, but to show the world and the young singers themselves, that its possible to come together in this way, though there are conflicts and maybe even war between the countries the young singers come from. Creating music makes peace between humans and in us. So it’s even a greater joy to see that the WYC has become UNESCO peace ambassadors. Many of us former singers had been waiting for this reunion, simply because, the very beginning of the World Youth Choir was such a great experience in our lives, when we were young singers. Coming together in this way, with people you don’t know anything about, to make wonderful music, travel the world and share social time, is THE BEST thing you can ever do in your life. You feel FREE! I joined for the World Youth Choir for 5 summers, from 1989 till 1993. For me, coming from a small island in the North of Norway, it made a huge impact on my life. I’m now a professional singer, do I need to say more? Of course the WYC did its purpose in my choice of career. I’m also helping young singers to develop as a singer, and that gives me great pleasure. It was so good to see my old friends again. We decided, 20 years later, that it would not be 20 years till next time. It will actually probably happen already next year. Maybe the world needs another choir? - With old world youth choir singers? - Who knows, only the future will tell? But for sure, “we’ll meet again, don’t know where, and don’t know when…!”
Hildegunn Coucheron, Norway
World Youth Choir 1989
“To reunite with those I first met 20 years ago was like coming home to the place where you have the happiest early memories. I couldn't help but feel like we were just picking up from where we left off 19 or so years ago. It was also wonderful to sing with the group which continues to provide high quality training and development for singers from around the world. Still I felt a little melancholy that so many of our old friends still didn't manage to make it. One of the most wonderful aspects was finding and chatting with our friends before the event started. I think that had emails existed when the choir began in 1989 we would all have been in contact much earlier.
Since the event I have managed to contact about 50 former members who hadn't managed to attend and we are trying to set up another reunion next year. The anniversary project really re-kick-started my love for these people and the WYC as a melting pot for international talent and choral coaching. Now the event is over I feel the same I did 19 years ago when I couldn't attend any more WYC meetings and that is great loss and a feeling that this must never end; and it must not end. 20 years ago we didn't know where the project would go, or where it would end up. Possible the best thing that happened was the cough and splutter of the first year, thankfully someone took up the project and breathed new life into the project and kept it alive. Regardless though, everyone who has had a hand in this project over the last 20 years has helped to create an institution of world cooperation and creativity. Not many international projects can claim that when they get together they speak with one voice. The WYC and the people I have met through the project will remain close friends for the rest of my life and hopefully we will all help to enrich our world through these wonderful experiences.”
Alec Jackson, United Kingdom
World Youth Choir 1989
“Music and singing is my whole life, but my profession is businessman, entrepreneur and manager, so my point of view will be a little bit different than opinions of active and professional musicians.
As at the beginning in 1989, the quality of a choir, conductors and chosen musical substance, is at an excellent level. The main vision of World Youth Choir /global unity and future hope/ and its social aspect is equally important, beautiful and courageous, as it was 20 years ago. World Youth Choir ’89 was an amazing experience of freedom, which is written in my memory for the rest of my life. For me WYC 20th Anniversary was a proof that in case of friendship time is not important. And in case of good music time has no role. The opportunity given to all musicians from 45 countries all around the world, which can communicate and be together for one week, is a wonderful experience for their further professional life. The fact, than in this way can communicate all musicians from mentioned 45 countries including the fact that there is a generation gap between them, is an experience which value we can’t evaluate. The idea of organization 20th Anniversary is absolutely great. If it could be up to me, I would organize this type of anniversary every 5 years as during past 20 years of my life I have outlasted a lot. I have got a wonderful wife and three beautiful children. I had 2 serious diseases. Each day is a gift for me!
WYC 20th Anniversary, the meeting with people and the musical experience is a great gift of me too. Every time I think about memories from this meeting, I have got a big smile on my face. And I would like to say thank you all”
Oliver Salon, Slovakia
World Youth Choir 1989
“I am one of the "very first" singers of the World Youth Choir. I sang in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. In 1991 I was also the project manager for the Prague portion of the tour. I am having hard time finding words to express what the World Youth Choir experience means to me. I never imagined I would be a part of such talented group of people. I was sad once I became "too old" to be a member anymore. I would miss my friends; I would miss the incredibly high level of music we were making together. I often thought about us "old" members singing and spending time together again, so I was ecstatic to find out that there will be an anniversary reunion. I knew I will do everything I can to be there. I wasn't the only one, apparently. Even in the time of the economic downturn, World Youth Choir former members from all over the world turned up at the Stockholm Central Station looking for the train to Orebro! The reunion was marvelous and way too short. Seeing my friends and catching up was priceless. So was singing together again. And yes, we were crying at the end, just like we did every year. Thank you, Thomas Caplin and Stefan Skold for the World Youth Choir and it's first year, thank you Jean-Claude Wilkens for keeping it alive till today, thank you Vladimir Opacic (and everyone else) who made this anniversary possible. And some of us 89'ers are already planning World Youth Choir Alumni sessions for 2010 and 2011.”
Jamila Hla Shwe, Czech republic/USA
World Youth Choir 1989
For the past 20 years, an army of soldiers worked to keep the World Youth Choir running. All of them, all over the world, will recognize themselves in this article. Therefore, the World Youth Choir gives the biggest gratitude to all of them, people around the world who recognized the importance of choir’s existence, who believed! Great thank you to all of you who believed and will believe in next 20 years!
Gratitude for the past 20 years, behalf of the International Center for Choral Music, the owner of the project, must be expressed to:
Stefan Sköld, Thomas Caplin the founders; Jean-Claude Wilkens founder and previous World Youth Choir manager; Benoit Giaux and Jean-Marc Poncelet, executive directors and previous managers; Alessandro Cortese, former singer and previous manager of the choir; former and present employees/trainees of the ICCM and IFCM Mrs. Veronique Bour; Ms. Nadine Robin; Ms. Maria Catalina Prieto; Ms. Victoria Liedbergius; the management and editorial team of the ICB, Mrs. Jutta Tagger, managing editor; International Federation for Choral Music, Jeunesses Musicales International and Europa Cantat, patron organizations of the World Youth Choir; the members of the World Youth Choir Committee, and of course to the Province of Namur, Mrs. Martine Jacques, and Ville de Namur with their appointed representatives, for their support through all these years.
Special gratitude must be expressed to more than 40 renowned world conductors of the choir in past 20 years, and hosts/organizational teams of Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, Spain, Norway, Uruguay, Canada, Estonia, Japan, Taiwan R.O.C., Slovenia, Venezuela, United States of America, Switzerland, South Korea, Israel, South Africa, P.R.O. China, countries which welcomed the World Youth Choir on its tours at more than 25 summer and winter sessions since 1989.
Final thank you goes to Miss Christina Kuhlewein, IFCM program coordinator for her immeasurable, invaluable work on the 20th Anniversary Celebration, as well as to Mr. Fred Sjoberg, president of the Swedish International Choral Center, and Mrs. Gunnel Sjoberg, the producer, for their tremendous work and devotion to host the 20th Anniversary celebration within the frame of the “Raise Your Voices” choral festival, Orebro, Sweden.