The choir of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, unibzVoices, counts 60 members, not necessarily students but all members of the community. The students of the Faculty of Education enjoy being part of the choir as it is a valuable preparation for their future work in schools or nursery schools.

The singers enjoy having the opportunity to develop their holistic beings through singing. “Not only do they develop a positive self-esteem, but they also build self-confidence”, states the choir conductor Prof. Johann van der Sandt. “Singing in the choir is a way of promoting social inclusion, it engages the emotions, it supports social skill development end it gives the individual to be part of something bigger than him/herself. Something artistic that came to being because of a group effort.”

Especially the project to sing “We are not alone” by Pepper Choplin during the Covid-19-pandemie was of importance, “as the social aspect of choir singing was absent and our group missed it a lot; but because of the loyalty to each other the singers sent in their videos as a token of solidarity”, prof. van der Sandt is pleased to say. 

In general, the repertoire for the choir is very wide as songs from all styles are included: sacred, secular, popular and folk songs. The repertoire is chosen to suit the level and skills of the singers, taking into consideration the audience that the choir sings to. „For me choir is like an instrument, an opportunity not only for the university but also for the community to be part of”, explains the professor of “Pedagogy and Didactics of Music” at the Faculty of Education. “We strive to make music of a high quality, and very important, it is not a German or an Italian speaking choir, but open to Erasmus students, or people from other cultural backgrounds – an atmosphere where they can feel safe to be themselves, free from any judgements.”

Listen here to the virtual video recording of unibzvoices of “We are not alone”. 

(vic)