For the first time two years Brass Band BlechKLANG from Jena, Germany, was able to undertake its traditional Christmas concert tour.

'Bläserweihnacht' (Brass Christmas) saw performances in Zeitz, Chemnitz and Jena, led by guest conductor Prof Chris Houlding.

Enjoyed

Chris has enjoyed a collaboration with the organisation for several years, and told 4BR: "I first met Alexander Richter and BlechKLANG in 2018 at their summer camp. I was immediately impressed by the passion, organisational skills and, of course, the fantastic youth work of the organisation which made me become a fan."

In response, Alexander said: "Whenever Chris has been our guest in Jena, you can literally feel the musical chemistry. It was great to have him with us for the return of what is a very special tour for us."

Pride

Chris not only took over the conducting, but also curated the programme of repertoire — very important in Germany where audiences take great pride in their festive music making.

He added: "The concerts were aimed to appeal to everyone — so we provided traditional Christmas carols to festive-inspired music from all over the world.

The audience particularly love the classics such as the enchanting music from Hansel & Gretel, but also enjoy something that widens horizons — so this year we gave them music from the Caribbean.

Versatility is appreciated as is the diversity — and responses from the audiences showed that in full."