Krasimira Kostova gives the lead gymnast. Wearing a headset, she stands next to the large grand piano in front of the first graders. She raises and lowers her arms, runs in place, hops and sings. And the kids do it. “We make ourselves big and then small again,” echoes through the music room on the ground floor of the Michael Ende Elementary School in Unterschleißheim. The children practice the Christmas elf dance. And Krasimira Kostova gives everything on the day before the school’s big Christmas gala, which is due to take place with hundreds of children on stage and their parents in the audience in the ballroom of the town hall. In between, she is assisted by class teacher Ramona Leitner, as provided for in the cooperation model, in which early musical education has been greatly expanded with the help of teachers from the music school in the city.
The children are clearly enjoying themselves. At some point, the movement and the music flow as if by themselves. They clapped their thighs and hands and finally sang without the music school teacher Kostova telling them anything else. The class teachers organize one such hour a week together with a teacher from the music school for all first grade children in Unterschleißheim.
“We don’t leave the music school teacher alone with the children.”
It is a certain contrast to the normal program at the schools, which are plagued by staff shortages. The loss of lessons is a big problem, says headmistress Elke Fannasch on the sidelines of the appointment and calls the situation in music lessons almost luxurious thanks to the special program that the music school provides with financial support from the municipality. “We appreciate that.” And she makes it clear: “We don’t leave the music school teacher alone with the children.” This is not an emergency program to save teacher hours.
Rector Elke Fannasch from the Michael-Ende elementary school welcomes the cooperation and says to the head of the music school, Victora Scherer: “We’ll soon be neighbors.”
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
In any case, the program is suitable for awakening the children’s desire to make music. The numbers speak for themselves: at the Michael-Ende elementary school alone, there are 111 first-graders who benefit from the lesson with the double teacher. There are also choir projects. For the second grade it is the “Singkids”, for the third and fourth grade it is the children’s choir with 30 children each. Victoria Scherer is behind the musical trumpet blast that brought such an upswing to music-making in schools. She has been running the music school for two years, which she took over with 246 students. There are now 878 – mostly children, but also adults. Her motto: “Short legs, short distances.” She brings the music to the children.
The cooperation program of the music school with the elementary schools is made possible by the city. “The mayor and the city council are behind it,” says Scherer, who, with the help of the municipality, is implementing what the music school board had given her as an order at the beginning of her work. “It was the desire to build cooperative work.” She then contacted the schools and the whole thing got rolling. What has been achieved with the Michael Ende Elementary School is to be significantly expanded. In addition to the existing school building from the 1970s, construction of a new building will begin shortly, which will offer space for more pupils and also for a whole wing just for the music school. Collaboration then becomes easier. “We’ll then be neighbors in the house,” says elementary school principal Fannasch. There will be an all-day branch in the new, larger school building, which offers opportunities for more cooperation. “Then there’s music all day long,” says music school director Scherer.
Despite Corona: music school director Victoria Scherer was able to significantly increase the number of music students through cooperation with other institutions in the city.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Meanwhile, the children in the music room have been rehearsing the gnome dance. Krasimira Kostova sits at the piano and plays. “The children think it’s great,” says class teacher Ramona Leitner. During the week she rehearses the songs with the children. But the lesson with the music teacher, who also masters various instruments, is valuable. “It’s something completely different for the kids,” says Leitner. The children have already made a rattle. The music room is well equipped with a grand and two uprights, as well as an adjoining room with many Orff instruments on shelves.
With her special training, Krasimira Kostova can give children a deeper insight into music.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Music school director Victoria Scherer explains the upswing in music at the city’s elementary schools and the music school itself with a catch-up effect after Corona. The desire to work together is back and great. “Everyone wants to meet,” says Scherer, the longing for interpersonal exchange is strong. The music school is made for it. “We are open to everyone.” We also work inclusively with the visually impaired center and the special educational support center.
There seems to be hardly any limit to growth. Elke Fannasch has only been principal at the Michael Ende School for two years and since then the number of students has grown from 360 to almost 400. The future school is designed for up to 500 students. The music school will also have new opportunities there in its own cluster on the first floor with its own entrance. According to Scherer, the previous training rooms on Johann-Schmid-Strasse and on Bezirksstrasse are becoming scarce.