The Air Force Band of Münster plays in Thuine (Photo by J. Franke)
by Johannes Franke, Lingen
The Münster Air Force Music Corps under the direction of Major Alexander Kalweit gave a benefit concert in Christ the King Church in Thuine on November 28, 2023, with proceeds supporting Emergency Aid for Königsberg and Ukraine Help.
"For the 13th time, the concert was a blessing in more ways than one," said a delighted Sister Maria Cordis Reiker, Superior General, who welcomed over 500 visitors. The 52-piece orchestra performed to raise funds to help support poor children in Kaliningrad (formerly called Königsberg) and needy people in Ukraine. In Kosmodemjansk, a district of Kaliningrad, the caregivers in the children's home look after, clothe, feed and support children between the ages of three and six from socially disadvantaged families, especially from single mothers.
The event was organized by the Reservist Association of Lingen, Emergency Aid for Königsberg/ Ukraine Help, the Motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters in Thuine, the Scharnhorst-Kaserne Society for the Preservation of Tradition, in Lingen, and the Order of Malta Relief Association in Lingen. On behalf of the reservists from Lingen, Sergeant Major Heinz Knacke thanked them and the other organizers for their commitment. The event was sponsored by the Mayor of Lingen, Dieter Krone.
The 90-minute concert began impressively with the prelude to the opera "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdink. The audience enjoyed a musical journey through time from the High Baroque to the 20th century, listening to the brass players and other instrumentalists. From the "Passacaglia from Suite No. 7 in G Minor" by George Frideric Handel to the "Nutcracker Suite" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the ten pieces of music performed by the Münster Air Force Music Corps were excellently arranged and each was explained by the conductor.
Traditional, varied and flexible, modern and dynamic: this is how the Münster Air Force Music Corps, as well as the excellent clarinet trio and outstanding soloists, played their way into the hearts of the enthusiastic audience, who gave a long standing ovation – and donation to the benefit collection.
As has become tradition, the project manager, Theodor Große-Starmann (of Emergency Aid Königsberg), presented the Superior General with a monetary gift to be used to purchase a rose tree that can grow, blossom and remind her of this wonderful evening.
