More than 1,000 students celebrate the joy of singing – noe.ORF.at

“Singing is a wonderful thing, and it's something I love to do.” The first of three choral concerts given by Inzersdorf Primary School (St. Pölten district) opened with this line of text. A slogan that many people in Grafenig Castle (Krems region) can agree on. The joy of singing together was the focus of the youth choir meeting, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary.

“We want to bring the choral singing that takes place in class choirs and youth choirs to the stage. We simply want to provide a stage for the great things that happen in schools,” says Andreas Gruber, specialist inspector of music at the Lower Austria Education Directorate, of the motivations behind “Chorissimo.”

The “applause meter” measures audience enthusiasm

But there must be a somewhat competitive nature: the so-called “applause meter” measures how loud the applause is after each performance. The choir with the highest applause will be rewarded with an additional performance as a final podium. In the first of three concerts held Wednesday, the honor was given to the Gmond Middle School Music Band.

Despite this extra rush of adrenaline, most young musicians' nervousness was limited. “It's a bit worrying, but it's actually going relatively well because we have prepared well,” said 14-year-old Ida Maierhofer, from the Biaristingengymnasium Krems. Eight-year-old Bernhard Hauser, from Inzersdorf Primary School, had a very simple recipe for a successful performance: “I just get on stage and sing.”