 Villa Thomana, part of the campus | |
| Motto | glauben singen lernen |
|---|---|
Motto in English | believing singing learning |
| Type |
|
| Established | 2002; 23 years ago (2002) |
| Founders | Georg Christoph Biller a.o. |
| Students | 1,200 |
| Location | ,, Germany 51°20′13″N12°21′41″E / 51.33694°N 12.36139°E /51.33694; 12.36139 |
| Website | www |
TheForum Thomanum (styledforum thomanum) is a music educational campus developed from 2002 inLeipzig, Saxony, Germany, as the new home of theThomanerchor which was founded in 1212. It was conceived in 2002 byGeorg Christoph Biller, thenThomaskantor, and others, to provide an internationally oriented innovative campus for a future of the traditional choir which was defined until then byThomaskirche andThomasschule.
The campus was inaugurated in 2012, where up to 1,200 boys and young men are given cultural education based on a religious foundation, social competence and democratic standing.[1][2]
In 2002,Georg Christoph Biller, thenThomaskantor, and others conceived the plan to broaden the education of theThomanerchor which was founded in 1212 and conducted byJohann Sebastian Bach from 1723.[3] The boys were until then educated at theThomasschule with boarding facility, to perform mainly in theThomaskirche. Besides Biller,Stefan Altner,[4] Roland Weise andChristian Wolff [de][5] were instrumental in planning Forum Thomanum as a campus for music education (musischer Bildungscampus), an internationally oriented institution[3][6][7] to care for the future of the traditional choir investing in education. Historic buildings were to be modernised and expanded, and new buildings added. An association to promote the project was founded in 2002.[5] Members included Biller,Klaus Lindner [de],Burkhard Jung (then mayor of Leipzig) andChristoph Michael Haufe [de].[5]
From the 2000s, the project was realised in steps.[4] In 2003, the Leipzig architectural firm Weis & Volkmann was included in the planning.[5][4] The first by-law was drawn by the jurist Frieder Schäuble, and a concept for new institutions was presented,[5] for a bilingual day care centre, a primary school and a middle school, a music academy, and theLutherkirche [de] as a building with several functions.[8] They were to be connected to the existingThomasalumnat [de] and sports facilities.[4] A project of the city of Leipzig, it has been recognised as innovative and unique in Germany.[3][9] The city estimated the total investment as Euro 30 million.[10]
The campus was inaugurated in 2012, for the 800th anniversary of the Thomanerchor. Its motto is "glauben singen lernen" (believing singing learning).[11] Up to 1,200 boys and young men are taught with the goal to raise culturally educated young people with a religious foundation, social competence and democratic standing ("mehr kulturell gebildete, religiös gebundene, sozial kompetente, demokratisch gesinnte Menschen") for a better society.[1][2]
The idea of a campus became a model for similar projects of city development (Stadtentwicklung) inBremen andNürnberg which were supported by theBundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung from 2007 to 2015.[12]
In 2012, the Thomanerchor was awarded a special prize of theEcho Klassik for its international education campus.[13]
Source:[14]
The former church grounds of theAnglicanAll Saints' Church destroyed inWorld War II are integrated into the educational campus.[18]
