Marita Druzba, soprano 2, started in the Berlin Volkschor in 1963, BOC honorary member since 2024
Marita: I attended a concert by the Berliner Volkschor with cheerful opera melodies that really inspired me. When I read an advert in the Tagesspiegel a few days later that the choir was looking for members, I plucked up all my courage and went to the choir rehearsal. I thought that anyone could join a folk choir and was very surprised that I had to audition. I remember from my very first concert, the Missa solemnis, that we went on stage hand in hand because I didn’t dare to sing alone.
Did you have any previous musical experience?
Marita: I learnt a little piano. We sang a lot at home, even polyphonically. I was in the choir at primary school and had a very good music teacher who rehearsed Ave Verum with us. It was quite difficult for ten-year-old pupils. Then, when I was about 15, I loved listening to operas, buying the libretti and following the texts. That was my favourite pastime.
What special memories do you associate with the choir?
Marita: On our concert tour to Finland in 1979, where the Missa solemnis was also performed, we occupied an entire aeroplane and the pilot asked us to sing something. It was so bad because of the terrible acoustics that we had to cancel, just the singing of course. When we said goodbye to our former choirmaster Mr Sell, the then répétiteur, Professor Dr Gerhard Ertl, invited us to a posh hotel for snacks and drinks. It was a great thing, as he had just been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
You have been loyal to the choir for more than 60 years. How has it changed over the years?
Marita: The programme has become more demanding. We’ve also had a lot of new members after the fall of the Berlin Wall and now, after pandemic. Many younger people, which is very good for our choir. What I also really like is the humour of our choirmasters. With Mr Sell, it was more folksy and rustic. With Mr Hennig, it has become more refined and intellectual, but also very humorous. When we once sang incorrectly, the choirmaster said: “Yes, that’s another way it could have been composed“. I think it’s great that you have so much fun during the choir rehearsal despite the full concentration.
