The Prohlis neighborhood in Dresden is getting its own opera house

Training in string and wind instruments

From then on, they taught children and teenagers for free in Prohlis, initially in a former ice cream shop in a shopping center. Many of the children here come from refugee families. To reach as many of them as possible, they developed their own teaching system. Currently, 15 teachers from five countries are teaching the young students to play string and wind instruments.

"Musaik" as an Instrument for Social Change

“'Musaik' uses musical training in the orchestra as a tool for social change,” emphasizes Tim Vollmann, who manages the association’s office. Many of the children and young people from about 15 countries come from socially and financially disadvantaged backgrounds. “The orchestra helps break down prejudices against strangers and outsiders and fosters a climate of respectful coexistence and mindfulness.”

The Staatskapelle Dresden supports the project

The musical social project has been supported by the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden for quite some time. The two “Musaik” founders, Luise Börner and Deborah Oehler, have since been honored with the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany. “Musaik” has become an integral part of Prohlis—and the neighborhood, with about 17,000 residents, is still considered a socially disadvantaged area. People from many nations live here.

Donations for the project are welcome

For its current project, “Musaik” is once again relying on the residents’ involvement. “Make the neighborhood opera colorful!” is the call to action. For the performance, costumes for about 100 schoolchildren, T-shirts, leggings, and aprons are needed. Each costume is estimated to cost 20 euros. The children need the money for materials. Using paint and brushes, they plan to build a castle out of banana crates; wood and glitter paper will be used to create a “Future Studio”; and gold foil and a fog machine will form a “time machine.”

Prohlis had already proven itself once before as the stage for a spectacular project. In 2020, musicians from the Dresden Symphony Orchestra climbed onto the roofs of several high-rises and turned the entire neighborhood into an open-air concert hall. For “Himmel über Prohlis,” four alphorn quartets and various wind ensembles played at lofty heights, while drummers on Chinese Dà Gǔ drums filled the residential neighborhood with sound.

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