With Electric Piano in the Hallway

On a sunny weekend in April, 21 students from grades seven to ten at Ravensburg Waldorf School made their way to Freiburg. It was to be a special kind of musical rehearsal weekend. The preparations for this were very time-consuming. Several weeks in advance, we advertised our unusual project through private contacts, in retirement and nursing homes, hospices, church organizations, with the city, in the local press and on the radio: «Do you know anyone in Freiburg who has a birthday on Saturday, 13 April, is lonely or has limited mobility, has lost a loved one, is awaiting the end of their life, needs consolation or encouragement? We, 21 students from the Freie Waldorfschule Ravensburg, are looking for people who could be surprised and made happy with songs or instrumental pieces. We sing or play music for this purpose at the post office counter, in the office, at the weekly market, in a hospice, in the living room, in a store or anywhere else. It costs nothing. If you know someone, please contact us.»

We didn't hear anything for a long time, no one got in touch, so we almost canceled our plans. But three days beforehand, we suddenly received requests and the list filled up. Our wish had come true, someone had commissioned us to sing for someone else, we were allowed to sing and surprise someone, because the recipient wasn't supposed to know that we were coming. So we got the addresses and then unexpectedly rang strangers' doors. Ms. Pichler was visited first. Her delicate voice sounded fragile on the intercom after we rang the bell: «Hello, who is this?» “Good morning Ms. Pichler, we've come to bring you a little surprise. Would you kindly open the door for us?» With the electric piano on their shoulders and a cable drum under their arm, the choir, the piano accompanist and two teachers climbed the creaky wooden stairs to the third floor. Ms. Pichler greeted us in her bathrobe in the doorway and initially seemed extremely suspicious about the unannounced visit. We explained to her that someone had sent us to her to make her happy. As she had done so much for others in her life, it was now time to give something back. Ms. Pichler agreed: «Yes, all right, if it has to be, but only briefly, please, as I can't stand on my feet for long!» And then we sang our first song, Enya's Only Time, in the hallway.

Over the next seven hours, we sang all over Freiburg in living rooms, hallways, rooms of old people's homes and care facilities for elderly people, but also for a young student who had fallen on hard times. Even though people were very surprised, we weren't turned away anywhere. I think what gave people confidence were the expectant, friendly faces of the students.

We hadn't practiced old folk songs beforehand. But I had taught the students Mendelssohn's Engelsterzett Hebe deine Augen auf alongside the traditional music literature. So we were well prepared for the older generation.

By the time we had finished our first visit to Ms. Pichler, her facial features had changed. She looked curiously down the stairs into the young faces of the school choir. She was very touched by the music and the fact that someone had thought of her. «Who sent you to me?» she asked after we had sung two more songs for her. We could not and were not allowed to tell her. It remained a secret.