El Sistema at Salzburg Festival

Rarely has an orchestra enchanted and thrilled ist audience as did the National Children’s Orchestra of Venezuela at the Salzburg Festival! This astonishing group was founded in 2010 by José Antonio Abreu as part of El Sistema, and Sir Simon Rattle conducted ist first-ever concert in Caracas. At the Salzburg Festival, it was Rattle on the podium again, conducting the children’s orchestra at its international debut.

A choir for hard-of-hearing and deaf youths? Sounds like a contradiction in terms, but the one-of-a-kind White Hands Choir of Venezuela proves the opposite, and this 60-mins film documents the choir’s first tour abroad following an invitation from the Salzburg Festival. The programme features Latin-American folk songs and Piazzolla arrangements as well as choral works by Mozart and Rutter.

Christmas with Benjamin Appl

The acclaimed baritone Benjamin Appl is constantly on the move, primarily in Europe, Japan, and South America. Now he returns to his hometown of Regensburg and joins forces with the Regensburger Domspatzen and soprano Elsa Dreisig to give a Christmas concert featuring carols from around the world. Melodies by John Rutter, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Cécile Chaminade, Michael Praetorius, as well as Traditionals from France, Sweden and Austria resound in the Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady to the Ancient Chapel in Regensburg. The international Christmas programme musically draws on the traditions of multiple cultures and regions, hence appealing to a wide audience.