The Young ClassX

Choir

50 choir directors sing at 30 schools with over 3,000 children and young people. In addition to regular rehearsals, many singers also receive comprehensive voice training. The repertoire ranges from pop anthems to rock songs and classical music. There are almost 300 The Young ClassX district concerts a year, at which children and young people from different schools make music together. They sing everywhere: in the Elbphilharmonie, in the Millerntor Stadium, with Rolf Zuckowski in Hamburg's Stadtpark or for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in an old cocoa warehouse in the harbor, at the Federal President's civic celebration in Bellevue Palace, at naturalization ceremonies in Hamburg's City Hall, as part of Hamburg's Climate Week, or at the "doppel::punkt" together with the dancers of the Federal Youth Ballet and with the Hamburg State Opera in Shanghai.

In addition to the development of musical skills, the focus of the choir work is equally on the promotion of social skills. Those who sing have the opportunity to grow beyond themselves, are able to push their own limits and sometimes overcome them completely. Singing is great fun - and does you good.

Since the founding of the association, The Young ClassX has been promoting the development of school choirs throughout the Hanseatic city in close cooperation with the Department of Education and Vocational Training.

The choir module is led by Maria Ludwig-Petersen and Michael Zlanabitnig.

Orchestra

The Young ClassX orchestra module consists of four orchestras under the direction of Prof. Clemens Malich. In the process, the children and young people learn much more than just their instrument: a sense of community, perseverance and self-confidence. In 2017, the Felix Mendelssohn Youth Orchestra received the European Young Orchestra Award and has been a sponsor orchestra of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra since the 2013/2014 season.

They play concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Dvořák and Smetana Hall in Prague, the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse and Carnegie Hall in New York and have been privileged to rehearse and perform with renowned conductors such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Kent Nagano, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Ion Marin, Guy Braunstein, John Axelrod, Robert Trevino and Eivind Gullberg Jensen.

In the orchestra module, 50 children and young people are given the opportunity to learn an instrument. As part of a scholarship, they are provided with all the resources they need: Instrument, lessons, sheet music and everything else needed.

The lessons are given by assistant coaches - students of the Hamburg University of Music and Drama or particularly committed members of the Felix Mendelssohn Youth Orchestra. In their work, the young instrumental teachers are supported by experienced music educators according to the "coach the coach principle".

MusikMobil

With The Young ClassX-MusikMobil, children and young people take a look behind the scenes of major cultural institutions. The MusikMobil takes school classes to the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, they can look over the shoulders of professional musicians at the public dress rehearsals of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, compose their own first pieces of music in Hamburg's book halls, try out all kinds of instruments from violin to tuba at the musiculum in Kiel, and find out how a grand piano is built during a workshop visit to Steinway & Sons.

Classical Music Award

In cooperation with Jugend musiziert, The Young ClassX awards The Young ClassX Music Prize Classic every two years to soloists, duos or ensembles who stand out not only for their musical performance but also for their personality and social commitment.

In addition to opportunities to perform at The Young ClassX, the award winners receive support in creating their own concert formats, professional orientation sessions under the guidance of a professional coach, support in realizing their own project idea, participation in education programs and master classes with artists such as Rudolf Buchbinder.