Anyone who runs a cultural center or community center knows that there is hardly a greater professional challenge: to lure young people into the houses, to attract an audience beyond the tendentially white-haired subscription audience (“Silbersee”). Michael Blume, head of the Kultur-und-Kongresszentrum Taufkirchen, is someone who always keeps an eye on this and, as a friend of rock sounds, does not tend to decidedly grown-up cultural rigidity anyway. Of course, from time to time he also manages to organize events in the community, which are dominated by the excited babble of teenagers and twenty-somethings and dark or blond hair. A show like “Breakin’ Mozart” in April, for example, in which urban acrobatic dance routines are combined with Viennese classics, always finds its young audience. In general, of course, it is what it is: the classic cultural milieu remains more of a thing for older people, and an optional subscription is still not considered a sign of juvenile coolness.
“It is difficult and it will remain difficult,” says Blume. “You can think about what you want.” Like some of his colleagues from the district, he would also like to see schools more willing to cooperate – for example, when it comes to attending theater performances. Various music schools have now advertised the concert of the Asia Youth Orchestra on August 13 in the Culture and Congress Center, but so far (and in general) the response has been muted. No wonder. In general, the situation for culture in the past few weeks and months has been suboptimal in many places in terms of popularity.
“The boys, between the ages of 15 and 30, go to festivals,” says Blume. And the older people apparently saved the money for going to the theater or the subscription, perhaps there is also the prospect of the presumably harsh winter (energy crisis) and some older people are still afraid of Corona. Blume is not, however, one who tends to resign because of this.
His reading of Thomas “Holy Night” is in demand: the Munich pastor Rainer Maria Schiessler.
(Photo: Organizer)
He is looking forward to the coming season in Taufkirchen, which, as stated in the current programme, runs from September to December and can again be booked as a subscription. This year it is designed to be a little shorter than usual in order to be more flexible in the event of necessary changes. You can also order individual tickets and there are performances that are doing really well in advance, even if they still seem a long way off in terms of content at the moment. A hit, for example, is “Holy Night”: Ludwig Thoma’s Christmas legend will be read on November 27 by the well-known and unconventional Munich pastor Rainer Maria Schiessler, accompanied by music from the Sibling Siferlinger Trio – there are songs written by Thoma.
The Christmas program will be eye-catching, rich in contrast – and frivolous
In general, the Christmas program is striking, the historical musical “Silent Night – A Sheet of Music from Heaven” on December 11th, which is about the origin of the world’s most famous Christmas carol in Oberndorf, Austria, should also be interesting. There is also a “Motown goes Christmas” party with groovy Christmas arrangements on December 23rd and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the end of November. As a sinful contrast, the two-time edition of “Let’s Burlesque” in December fits in very well, the frivolous stage show from Berlin is now finally going to take place after being postponed several times (December 1st and 2nd).
Show with groove: Motown goes Christmas.
(Photo: Loredana La Rocca)
In general, the program again serves different genres, including cabaret, of course, with the subtle and astute Andreas Rebers (“I’ll help you”, October 28) or Daphne de Luxe, who is not yet so well known in southern Bavaria, who is in the ARD-Ladies-Night and as “Barbie in XL format” does comedy with force and self-mockery. “She’s funny and sophisticated. That’s something different,” says Blume.
The sometimes impatient head of the Taufkirchner cultural office is still full of energy, even if some things don’t go as quickly as he would like. It suits him that local politics supports culture: A new sound system is ordered for the cultural center, which costs around 200,000 euros. “A really cool plant,” as Blume puts it. Even such facilities are not a bad argument to attract younger visitors.
For more information, including subscriptions, go to https://kulturzentrum-taufkirchen.de/home.html