The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Write notes: Musical celebration with a tale well worth penning.
ConCCrt: Youngsters from the Fair City and Aschaffenburg will take to the stage but there is a bigger story behind the event
Perth’s historic St John’s Kirk will be filled with the voices of dozens of youngsters from the twin cities of Aschaffenburg and Perth tomorrow.
Nearly 90 children will sing in celebration of 60 years of the twinning.
The concert is the result of a collaboration between The Stiftsbasilika, Aschaffenburg, and Craigclowan Preparatory School, Perth, but behind the event lies the story of two youthful pen pals.
Some 45 years ago a 15-year-old Icelandic boy named Astmar Olafsson and a 13-year-old German girl, Gisela Fitz, started to correspond as pen friends. The correspondence lasted many years, a firm friendship was formed and they finally met in London in 1979 for the first time.
As time passed both got married and had families in their respective countries. As a result letter writing became less frequent as their lives became busy with children and careers.
Astmar moved from Iceland to Perth in 1993, while Gisela married a businessman in Aschaffenburg and raised four children.
Contact became infrequent and letters and postcards from Germany remained unanswered until a postcard arrived from Perth, but with no returning address.
Gisela, now Lang, did not know how to contact her Icelandic friend but assisted by her husband, Theo, she approached the Twinning Association of Perth/ Aschaffenburg.
Correspondence started again and it was discovered that the children of both families were involved in music-making, in Germany with the Kinderchor of the Stiftsbasilika, Aschaffenburg, while Mr Olafsson’s children were singing in his own choir as he was now director of music at Craigclowan School.
Due to the families’ friendship cultural exchanges between the two institutions have flourished and the German children will perform tomorrow at 5pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Astmar said: “I am very much looking forward to seeing dear old friends when the Aschaffenburg choristers return to Craigclowan and to new friendships being forged. I hope as many people as possible will come along to the concert in St John’s Kirk for the celebration of music making between our two cities.”