December 2001 - Nr. 13
Dick reports...
Carolling with a twist…
…at the Hansa Haus. This is an annual event, held in the "Hansa Stube", upstairs and hosted by the Hansa Choir. This has always been a well-attended affair and this year’s choir concert was crowding the facility again. Of course the choir itself takes up quite a bit of room, but there were also a great number of visitors present that had come to hear and to participate.
After a short introduction by Elvira Korda, the choir’s president, the choir performed under the leadership of Wolf Schepp, who was ably assisted by his wife Inge on the keyboard.
Now
here comes the twist: When the choir sang the "Little Drummer
Boy", young Jeffrey Erbrecht played his drums. Later, when they sang J.
S. Bach’s "Jesus, Joy of Man’s desiring" the singers were
accompanied by Jeffrey’s brother Daniel, who played the main theme on the
trumpet. This was very effective, very well done and greatly applauded by
the guests.
Some of the carols were sung in German and some in English and since everyone was familiar with the selections it did not seem to matter.
After the first section of the afternoon a short break allowed for cakes, cookies and coffee to be served to all present. Thanks to the efforts of the Ladies’ Auxiliary a great variety of pastries was available and found quite palatable by plenty of admirers.
In the second half of the event the audience was invited to participate in a sing-along of more of these seasonal favourites. All through the performances, Wolf Schepp also functioned as a very likable Master of Ceremonies and guided the performances with great gusto and a good deal of humour.
Christmas Concert
The
next item in this series of pre-Christmas events was the performance of a
Christmas Concert by the East York Concert Band, at the Danube-Swabian Club
in Scarborough, the following day.
It was a Monday when the club is officially closed but this did not stop about 350 people from appearing for this stirring performance. Unfortunately on this day the kitchen was also closed but the bar was open and Coffee and cake was available for the hungry and thirsty.
Some
of the selections the 44 musicians under the direction of Ernie Walker
performed were Waltz Time for Christmas, Parade of the tin soldiers and
themes from the nutcracker suite as well as most of the other well-known
Christmas favourites such as Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Hark the Herald Angels
Sing, White Christmas and many others. Again the audience was asked to sing
along to some of the songs, an invitation they enthusiastically complied
with.
The next time this band will perform at the Danube Swabians will be on May 6th. 2002, with their "Spring Concert". The band itself consists of about 50 members. About 1/3 are female and all are volunteers and talented amateur musicians. It was quite an experience, I can assure you.
Lein’s "Christkindl Market"
Lein’s
"Christkindl Market" was a busy scene again. The weather, albeit
nippy, was mostly sunny and the customers lined up for the "Rostbratwurst"
(with bun and sauerkraut) in the tent outside the store. Many customers had
brought coupons cut from the newspaper ads and DJ Helmut provided seasonal
music that added to the festive atmosphere. As you can also see from Lein’s
ad, they will be open every Sunday from now until Christmas.
That
means you have more opportunities to get all the specials that are offered
for the season, as many customers have already done. Master butchers –
trained in Germany, produce all the wonderful meat products available
in-house.
One item that struck my fancy was the meatloaf with cheese
– something I had never tasted. 
It
was delicious, especially when it was still warm!
But there were other specialties available, including the new English and German version of the Struwwelpeter. Remember him and his naughty friends?
Santa at the Hansa Haus
My
next stop was the Hansa Haus and the annual Christmas Party the club host
for the members and their children and grandchildren. Christmas cake and a
variety of cookies on each table provided delighted smiles by the young
guests. Coffee was served to the grown-ups, who seemed to have as much if
not more fun than the kids.
The
Hansa Choir entertained with Christmas Carols and young Jeffrey and Daniel
Erbrecht did the drummer boy and the trumpet solo again I had mentioned
earlier.
They
are Wolf’s and Inge Schepp’s grandchildren as Wolf proudly told me.
"It’s a musical family", he said.
The
Junior Schuhplattler group provided more entertainment. The group performed
a number of Christmas songs with little bells – the same bells that are
featured in many of their other functions throughout the year. The applause
the received was almost deafening. Great job.
And
then came the most important part of the afternoon: Santa arrived with two
cartloads of presents and an elf, while the children sang "Jingle
Bells" and wondered what he had brought for them.
As
their names were called they eagerly went up to Santa’s throne to receive
them and immediately headed for their respective tables to unwrap these
goodies. None of them seemed disappointed and why should they be? After all
this was a bonus - since Christmas is still almost two weeks away. One young
lady that wouldn’t go near Santa last year even agreed to pose with him,
for the camera, this year. Well, they grow up all too fast, don’t they?
So much for this issue, more coming in the next one.
As always,
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
