Figure 2.--The Knabenchor Marianum Fulda Choir is seen here about 1967, soon after its founding. The boys wear whit shirts, black ties, dark blue short pants, and white kneesocks. We're not sure if the school also had a choir. One boy forgot his white kneesocks.

The Knabenchor Marianum Fulda is a Catholic German choir. It was founded in 1966. It is associated with a Mariaist school. About 80 younger boys participate along with 60 older boys and adults. The choir uniform has changed over the years. The choir appears popular at the school. The original choir uniform was white shirts worn with different kinds of ties, blue short pants and white kneesocks. The current unifom is a short red jacket and black long trousers. Marianum is a private Catholic school in Fulda with six-form high school and Gymnasium upper level. The school was created in the year 1951 by the Mariaists.

The Choir

The choir appears popular at the school, attracting a substantial number of participants. The choir has about 80 younger boys singing soprano parts. There are also about 60 choirists with adult voices which provide the tonal balance needed for in some performances. The choir is made of boys' voices. The boys are now supported in their performances by tenors and basses who were former students at Marianum as well as teachers and parents as well. Many of the adults members sang in the choir as boys which gives them great experience in blending their voices with the younger choristers. Some teachers and parents also participate. The choir is member in the "German Singer Federation" (Deutschen Sängerbundand) and the international church choir federation "Pueri Cantores"--an association of Catholic boy choirs.

Members

Boys enter the choir at age 10-11 years. This is because the are drawn from the Marianum Fulda School where the boys begin at age 10-11 yars as it is a 6 form college (high school). The choir reports that this is the age at which "the musical formation begins". Many choirs accept younger boys, giving them several years to sing in the choir before their voices break. The Marianum Fulda choristers, however, have only 2-4 years before their voices break. Thus there is not much time remaining in the sopran or alto range. This is probably the largest challenge faced by the choir. Many large, well-known boy choirs operate with "pre-assembled letting". This enables boys up to the age of 11 years to be admitted to the choir already ranked and become important supports of the choir.

Director

The head master of the Fuldaer Maria School in 1966 decided with Gustl Steers, a new music teacher at the school, to launh a boy choir should begin. Juergen Weber in 1986 took over as choir conductor. He was the upper secondary school teacher and a school musician. He was a graduate of the Frankfurt college of music. Choir line pupil Helmut Rillings also played an important role. The Marianum Fulda choir in 2002 was directed by Martin Farnung.

Practice

The choir practives four times per week at 7:15 am before school begins. Getting to school early for choir practice requires some dedication for the young choristers. There are also some practices during school hours as well as voluntary practices in the afternoon.

Performances

The Choir gives many concerts in the Fulda area. There is also an annual concert journeys to other German states as wll as to foreign cuntries. There have been trips to: Copenhagen, as (2), Rome (2), Paris, Salzburg, Como, Berlin, London, Dresden, Verbania-Pallanza, Budapest, Posen, and Oslo. The choir has, however, has not visited America. The School views the Choir as a "singing messenger." As a esul of these trips, the choir has developed friendly relations with foreign choirs,especially the Dresdner Kapellknaben, Ameisenkinder/Weimar, Knabenchor of St. Ursen Cathedral Solothurn/Schweiz, Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint Saint-André/Colmar, and others. These choirs have enriched the culture life of the baroque city of Fulda with their concerts and return visits.

Figure 2.--The Knabenchor Marianum Fulda Choir is seen here about 1967, soon after its founding. The boys wear whit shirts, blkack ties, dark blue short pants, and white kneesocks. We're not sure if the school also had a choir.

Costumes

The choir uniform has changed over the years. The original choir uniform was white shirts worn with different kinds of ties, blue short pants and white kneesocks. We are not sure what the inspiration for this uniform was. Several German choirs had costumes of white shirts, black or blue short pants, and white kneesocks. For several years the boy sang in white shirts, black vests and short pants, and white kneesocks. The Choir in 1988 switched to a new uniform consisting of a short red jacket and black long trousers. This is the costume in which the Choir performs in today.

Competitions

The Choir has competed with success in many choir competitions. The Choir has been successfully in the boy choir division of the Hessian Choir competition in the Transmission Hall of the Hessian Broadcast Studio.

Productions

The choir has arranged three large "Weihnachtskonzerte" have been occupied since 1999 increasingly with songs and skits from well-known musicals as well as pop music. Two D-CProductions were compleged by 1999 and an additional one was in the planning stage.

Figure 3.--The full choir is seen here at a formal concert in 1987.

Motivation

Participating in a serious choir requires a major commitment on the par of a boy. Singing at a high level require not only considerable time, but considerble concentration and effort. If one asks the boys, wherein the incentive for their commitment to the Choir lies, the same responses come again and again: fun with singing, success experiences at performances, in addition, the trips abroad with many new acquaintances in the host families, and the community experiences. These varied experiences provide the motivation for the considerable commitment the boys make to the choir.

Other Activities

The choir has been engaged in the past few years in th city theatre production of Tosca's "Carmen". The opportunity to participate in a production of Mozarts' "Magic Flute" had to be called off recently because of scheduling problems. In the summer of 1997, Choir Conducor Martin Farnung and Helmut Rilling decided to give more attentioin to studing and singing opera.

The School

Marianum is a private Catholic school in Fulda with a 6-form high school and Gymnasiumr upper level. The school was founded in 1951 by the Mariaists. The Mariaists made in particular it according to its founding rule believe that their duty to educate young people in the Christian spirit and under special protection of St. Mary. They pursue this principle around the whole world thfough a large nimber of schools. Most of the instructors today are laymen. The Marianum Fulda is the only Mariaists in Germany.