The Forum Thomanum (styled forum thomanum) is a music educational campus developed from 2002 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Saxony, Germany, as the new home of the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

which was founded in 1212. It was conceived in 2002 by

Georg Christoph Biller Georg Christoph Biller (20 September 1955 – 27 January 2022) was a German choral conductor. He conducted the Thomanerchor as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach from 1992 to 2015. He was also a baritone, an academic teacher, ...

, then

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...

, and others, to provide an internationally oriented innovative campus for a future of the traditional choir which was defined until then by

Thomaskirche The St. Thomas Church () is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known ...

and

Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (; ) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world. St. Thomas is known for its art, language and m ...

. The campus was inaugurated in 2012, where up to 1,200 boys and young men are given cultural education based on a religious foundation, social competence and democratic standing.

History

In 2002,

, then

, and others conceived the plan to broaden the education of the

which was founded in 1212 and conducted by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

from 1723. The boys were until then educated at the

with boarding facility, to perform mainly in the

. Besides Biller,

Stefan Altner Stefan Altner (born in 1956) is a German musician, musicologist and cultural manager. Life Born in Brandis, Altner was a member of the Thomanerchor from 1966 to 1975 and attended the St. Thomas School in Leipzig. He then studied church music ...

, Roland Weise and were instrumental in planning Forum Thomanum as a campus for music education (), an internationally oriented institution to care for the future of the traditional choir investing in education. Historic buildings were to be modernised and expanded, and new buildings added. An association to promote the project was founded in 2002. Members included Biller, ,

Burkhard Jung Burkhard Jung (born 7 March 1958 in Siegen) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been the 21st lord mayor (''Oberbürgermeister'') of Leipzig (Saxony) since 2006. Political career In addition to his role as mayor ...

(then mayor of Leipzig) and . From the 2000s, the project was realised in steps. In 2003, the Leipzig architectural firm Weis & Volkmann was included in the planning. The first by-law was drawn by the jurist Frieder Schäuble, and a concept for new institutions was presented, for a bilingual day care centre, a primary school and a middle school, a music academy, and the as a building with several functions. They were to be connected to the existing and sports facilities. A project of the city of Leipzig, it has been recognised as innovative and unique in Germany. The city estimated the total investment as Euro 30 million. The campus was inaugurated in 2012, for the 800th anniversary of the Thomanerchor. Its motto is "" (believing singing learning). Up to 1,200 boys and young men are taught with the goal to raise culturally educated young people with a religious foundation, social competence and democratic standing ("") for a better society. The idea of a campus became a model for similar projects of city development () in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and

Nürnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...

which were supported by the

Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung The Federal Ministry for Transport (, ; abbreviated BMV) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is located in Berlin, while the majority of its civil servants and employees work in Bonn, the secondary s ...

from 2007 to 2015. In 2012, the Thomanerchor was awarded a special prize of the

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize ...

for its international education campus.

Campus

Source: *Day care center *Elementary school and after-school care *Middle school * St. Thomas School *, boarding school *Villa thomana *Academia * at the edge of Johannapark The former church grounds of the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

All Saints' Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania * All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane, Queensland *All ...

destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

are integrated into the educational campus.Grundschule und Hort
retrieved 13 March 2023.

References

External links

* *

Deutschlandradio Deutschlandradio (DLR; ) is a national German public radio broadcaster. History ''Deutschlandfunk'' was originally a West German news radio targeting listeners within West Germany as well as in neighbouring countries, ''Deutschlandfunk Kultur'' ...

, 26 May 2008 Music education organizations Education in Leipzig 2002 establishments in Germany

History

Campus

References

Further reading

External links