Music builds bridges between different living environments

In the “Schall & BauchOrchester” children and young people come together who would presumably never get to know each other without the project funded by “Kultur macht stark”. The music educators Mathis Stendike and Jan Heinke make music with 30 students aged eight to 14 years. Half of them visit the “Johann-Heinrich Pestalozzi” learning support center and the other half the “Terra Nova Campus – the Discovery School”, a support center for children and young people with physical and mental disabilities. Other alliance partners are the Chemnitz City Music School, where the organizational strands come together, and the Sächsische Mozart-Gesellschaft e. V., which makes its network available and ensures a short connection, for example when the “Schall & BauchOrchester” takes part in music events

Reduce skepticism and prejudice

After the summer vacation of 2019, the formation of the “Schall & BauchOrchester” started. At first the music teachers worked alone with the respective groups from the two support centers. Over the months, the two groups were then merged into one in order to prepare a joint performance. For Mathis Stendike and Jan Heinke it was exciting to watch how the groups grew together. “They come from different worlds,” describes Mathis Stendike. “Although the two schools are only 500 meters apart, they couldn’t be more different: The participants with disabilities from the Terra Nova Campus are very well supported. The children and adolescents from the learning support school are very much on their own, receive little support from their parents and are not perceived as in need of support in everyday life. Both groups have a lot to give each other – after they have succeeded in breaking down skepticism and prejudice. “

Your own body becomes an instrument

Breaking down skepticism and prejudices – this is achieved playfully through music, it builds bridges between different living environments. The passionate musicians Mathis Stendike and Jan Heinke open up a musical universe for the participants by teaching them the variety of instruments. Horn player Mathis Stendike was a member of the ensemble of the Erzgebirge Philharmonic before he preferred to work as a freelance musician a few years ago. Saxophonist Jan Heinke is also a freelance musician. With devotion he develops new instruments, among other things he invented the steel cello. The “Schall & BauchOrchester” also builds instruments. For drums, kits are sometimes used. “They have the advantage that you need more than two hands for this, and teamwork comes naturally,” explains Mathis Stendike. Otherwise, natural materials are also collected: stones, nuts and cones, for example, are great rattles.

The groups are composed differently in each school year and the two musicians vary their work with the children and young people depending on the needs of the participants. But they always let tones sound, rhythms are tried out and, above all, your own body always becomes an instrument. Breathing and speaking techniques allow participants to get to know their own body better. Through singing and body percussion – the sound generation with your own body with the help of hands, feet, fingers and mouth – you will discover the joy of music. “The students are motivated and challenged: to improvise and try things out, to act in a targeted manner,” says Mathis Stendike.

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Sharpen hearing and perception

In the times before the corona pandemic, the musicians worked towards organizing a trip to a youth hostel in the Ore Mountains with the children and young people. “This is quite time-consuming for various reasons, because we need special vehicles to transport the young wheelchair users and, in some cases, 1: 1 support,” explains Mathis Stendike. a some of the participants have severe disabilities, personal assistance is available to them and this supervisor comes along on this trip. Social workers are also part of the support. “But this effort is always worthwhile, because the participants benefit from being in a different environment. In addition, the group grows together, because everyone lends a hand when a wheelchair has to be pushed through the forest. Even building instruments can only be achieved together, you need more than two hands. ”In 2020, the trip had to be canceled due to the corona, and this year it will probably not be possible yet.

The two musicians are currently providing nature experiences on site. They encourage the participants to put their mobile phones down and discover the sounds of nature. “Hearing is also important to us, the perception of the environment. In the project name, “sound” stands for hearing, finding and classifying sounds – for everything that flows into the children and young people or the sounds that they themselves produce. “Belly” stands for the sensitivity, the sensitivity of your own body. “Orchestra” ultimately stands for the interplay of people, sounds, different impressions, processes and the very practical musical interplay of our groups, i.e. being part of a whole, ”explains Mathis Stendike.

Participants give themselves rules

He and his colleague see ourselves as “facilitators”. You push processes and let the participants decide as much as possible for themselves. For example, the children and young people set their own rules for being together. Neither do the two musicians know in advance what type of disability some of the participants have. “We meet everyone in the same way and find out for ourselves who can do what. This openness enables everyone to try new things and overcome their limits. The participants achieve amazing things and are often surprised because they did not trust themselves to do it, ”observed Mathis Stendike.

Even if trips are currently not possible due to the pandemic, there was at least the highlight of a festive appearance last year. The “Schall & BauchOrchester” was present at the “Dream Concert 2020” in the Chemnitz city hall. In the dream concert series, young artists with and without handicaps make music together with members of the Robert Schumann Philharmonic. A festive final appearance is also planned for this year.