Thousands join Martin Luther King musical with their voices
Germany, Switzerland, and Austria will host the musical. The project with a large choir promoted by “Creative Church” wants to show what was behind Luther King’s famous “I have a dream”.
king-musical.de, Livenet.ch · WETZLAR · 07 SEPTEMBER 2022 · 15:23 CET
Ten cities in three German-speaking countries in Europe will host in autumn concerts of the Choir-Musical Martin Luther King.
Around 10,000 people have joined the rehearsals of the concert held in their region.
The project was started by the Foundation Creative Church, the EKD (German Protestant Church) and supported by the Federation of Free Evangelical Churches of Germany, has grown to include amateur singers as young as 7 years old and as old as 91.
An image of the show in its launch in 2019. The launch concert in 2019 included a big band, classical orchestra, well-known musical singers, and a choir of 2,400. In that year and the following, over 60,000 attended the concerts.
Songwriters Hanjo Gäbler und Christoph Terbuyken are the creators of the musical. They had already been behind musicals like “The Ten Commandments”, “Amazing Grace” and “Pop-oratorium Martin Luther”. Journalist and Luther King expert Andreas Malessa joined them to create the story of the US pastor and justice activist.
Malessa explained “I have a dream” is “a utopia, an idea worth fighting for, even if it is not yet realised at the moment. It is about his principles and his practical training of non-violent actions in favour of the disenfranchised. What the US African Americans were for Martin Luther King in the 60s, the refugees and the 'working poor' in 21st century Europe are for us today”.
Hundreds of singers join the musical in every city, like this rehearsal in Wetzlar, Germany. The creators add on the project’s website: “The musical acts as an ambassador: For the ‘Good News’ of the Christian faith that motivated Dr. King, and for an awareness that the commitment of each individual counts for the good of people and the environment. King’s dream and his non-violent commitment to human rights inspire reflection on world events and one's own actions with a world-changing character”.
There is no need to a member of a choir or a Christian to join the rehearsals. The amateur singers joining each concert have been rehearsing in the last months. Everyone is invited to join, since “you do not need to be a member of a choir, neither do you have to have a church affiliation”, the organisers say.
In some cities, over 1,200 people have already signed up to sing.
The musical has also been designed in a way that the whole work or single songs can be used in church or similar contexts.
Local organisations such as the Swiss Evangelical Alliance and the Federation of Baptist Churches in Germany.
The concerts will be held between October 2022 and April 2023 in these cities: Bayreuth, Wetzlar, Göpingen, Lemgo, Rostock, Neu-Ulm, Göttingen (Germany), Thun and Sankt Gallen (Switzerland), and Salzburg (Austria).
Published in: Evangelical Focus - culture - Thousands join Martin Luther King musical with their voices