Marleen, patron Jürgen Schwarz, break-time concerts on St Nicholas Day – Gymnasium Rutesheim and our association share a very special bond.
Marleen – where it all began
Thirteen-year-old Marleen Küchler was a student at Gymnasium Rutesheim when she was diagnosed with leukaemia and later cared for by the HOPPS project. In the run-up to our first big concert in 2015, Marleen spurred us on during a visit to the Olgäle, boosted our motivation and helped us overcome our initial shyness as we made music for the children there. She attended the 2015 concert and once again gave us encouraging feedback. When we asked her whether we should continue our work and organise another concert, she answered in all seriousness: "You absolutely have to keep going."
Sadly, Marleen did not live to see the 2017 concert. At her funeral, Petra Rennings and Dirk Schieborn played "Der Strom", a song written by Petra and one of Marleen's favourites. Jürgen Schwarz, the principal of Gymnasium Rutesheim, gave a deeply moving speech. In the conversation that followed, the idea emerged of winning Mr Schwarz as patron of the charitable association "Was uns am Herzen liegt e. V.", which was just being founded at the time – a role he gladly accepted.
Jürgen Schwarz at "Was uns am Herzen liegt" 2017
Break-time concerts on St Nicholas Day
Ever since, the school has supported our project in many ways. Our "break-time concerts", performed by the WUAHL musicians for the students in the school foyer during the long break on St Nicholas Day, have almost become a tradition. Here is a short video clip of the 2018 break-time concert:
In turn, the student council and the students of the school have once again chosen "Was uns am Herzen liegt" as the beneficiary of their St Nicholas fundraising campaign – something we are delighted about!
Another connection: Michael Friedinger
And yet another connection came to light: what we didn't know was that Michael Friedinger, keyboarder and bandmate of our soul-legend frontman Sir Waldo Weathers, is a music teacher at Gymnasium Rutesheim. Without further ado, Michael joined in at the 2018 break-time concert and backed our band with funk grooves and organ sounds. And because the musical spark caught instantly and Michael took a liking to our project, he will now be on stage at the Friedenskirche on 19 October, playing keyboards alongside Dirk Schieborn.
Michael Friedinger, music teacher at Gymnasium Rutesheim and keyboarder with "Was uns am Herzen liegt"
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