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 German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, 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 a ...

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

Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

and

Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) 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 ...

. 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 (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

from 1723. The boys were until then educated at the

with boarding facility, to perform mainly in the

Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

. Besides Biller, Stefan Altner, 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 March 29, 2006. In addition, he has been president of th ...

(then mayor of Leipzig) and . From the 2000s, the project was realised in steps. In 2003, the Leipzig architects' 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 (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

and

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

which were supported by the Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung 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 E ...

for its international education campus.News, in:

Österreichische Musikzeitschrift The ''Österreichische Musikzeitschrift'' (ÖMZ, Austrian music magazine) was a monthly music magazine published in Vienna, Austria, by Verlag Musikzeit. It was established in 1945 by the Austrian cultural politician and music critic . It appear ...

, Bd. 67, No. 5 (2012), pp. 117.

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

References

External links

* *
Musische Erziehung in herrschaftlichem Ambiente, Campus "Forum Thomanum" in Leipzig
(in German)

Deutschlandradio Deutschlandradio (DLR) (''Radio Germany'') 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, ''Deutsc ...

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

History

Campus

References

Further reading

External links