Leipzig Gewandhausorchester at Teach for All

Music has long played an important role in connecting cultures. As Karsten Heinz, Contrabassist with the Gewandhausorchester once said, ’’Music is my passion because I’m able to express myself without words. I can communicate with people without using other languages.’’ 

It’s this universal language of music that Heinz and other members of the world’s oldest civic orchestra will be speaking when they arrive in Houston on November 3 as part of their eight-day tour of the United States. These players, who make their home in Leipzig, Germany but also travel around the world to bring their talents to classical music fans in other countries, are some of the very best musicians alive today. With a repertoire that includes Leipzig’s adopted sons of Bach and Mendelssohn alongside Beethoven and Bruckner, the orchestra under the conduction of Riccardo Chailly is world-renowned for its unique sound.

Always interested in passing along their passion for classical music, several of the orchestra’s players will be making an unusual stopover before their performance in Houston. Three members will be traveling to a school where Teach For America places teachers to bring their talents to students from less privileged backgrounds who might not otherwise not have the opportunity to experience live classical music. These long-time members of the symphony orchestra will describe the Gewandhaus venue in Leipzig, the orchestra, and its traditions, and outline what a career as a musician might look like.

It’s not the first school visit that the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester has taken part in while on tour. As supporters of musical education programs, members of the orchestra have paid similar visits to schools in London as part of their concert tours to the Barbican Centre.

In Houston, the visit has been coordinated through DHL, the orchestra’s Official Logistics Partner and supporter of Teach For All, a network of over 30 independent  organizations that was founded in 2007. To address the educational inequality that arises from economic disparities, organizations in the Teach For All network recruit and develop diverse individuals from a range of academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in their nations’ high need classrooms and to work throughout their lives, both within and outside of education, in pursuit of expanded opportunity for children. DPDHL is Teach For All’s largest corporate donor, supporting Teach For All and programs in select countries. 

“Educational opportunity plays a key role in our group’s idea of corporate responsibility. Hence, we are not just thrilled for the upcoming U.S. tour of the symphony orchestra, but also welcome that the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester agreed to clear time in their busy tour schedule to support Teach For All’s and our endeavors to increase educational opportunity and employability”, said Vincenzo Scrudato, Managing Director at DHL Trade Fairs & Events.

As the official logistics partner of the LeipzigGewandhausorchester, DHL is also supporting the ensemble’s annual tour through the USA as they travel for performances in Houston, Washington D.C., Boston, Newark and New York.