German, Nigerian musicians rehearse for Beethovenfest show

DW (English)

This year, Nigeria is featured at Bonn's Beethovenfest. DW traveled to the country's largest city, Lagos, to meet the Nigerian and German musicians rehearsing together ahead of their concert in Germany.

Transcript

00:00Lagos, Nigeria. The first meeting between six young musicians from Germany, six from Nigeria and the Nigerian Bantu Band.

00:11They take part in this year's campus project from Beethovenfest, Deutsche Welle and the German National Youth Orchestra.

00:18Afrobeat meets classical music, Africa Europe and the past the present. They are all ready to make harmony.

00:25I'm Mary from Lagos. I'm Louis. I'm 20 and I'm currently studying clarinet in Lubeck.

00:32To loosen up, a song from singer-songwriter Adi Bantu. He leads the campus, a song about broken dreams in Nigeria.

00:44People in Europe usually don't know all that much about Africa. I thought this would be a great chance to learn new things.

00:54Like many in her homeland, Mary started her musical career in church and later studied violin.

01:03We love music in our family, but it's not allowed to be studied as a career. I stick to my music.

01:12It wasn't really easy, but now it's easy and it's accepted.

01:19The programme includes folk and political songs alongside a piece from Beethoven, of course, his Egmont Overture.

01:26The group slowly becomes one.

01:30After a demanding rehearsal, time to relax on the beach at Victoria Island.

01:35Discovering other cultures across borders, that has been the core idea of the campus project since 2001.

01:42The next day is busy with preparations for their first public performance in the renowned Jay Randall Cultural Centre in the heart of Lagos.

01:56Visitors from Germany and Nigeria come together here.

02:00It's the high point and conclusion of an intense week of rehearsals in Nigeria.

02:12The concert is a hit with the audience and the excitement is palpable among members of the campus project.

02:19Amazing. Like I got to play with German musicians. It was great.

02:25It was a Nigerian dream. That's it.

02:28It's time for goodbyes in Lagos, but they will see one another again at the Beethoven Fest concert in Bonn.

02:35The campus, a bridge between cultures also in 2025.

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