With a pocket trumpet through Bonn

Juri de Marco loves bringing people together, especially through music. As a community musician, he wants to get everyone in Bonn singing and jamming. He has started in the Tannenbusch neighbourhood.

Community means community. Do you like being part of a group?

Yes, definitely! I realised early on how much I love bringing people together. I formed my first band when I was twelve. During my studies, I quickly founded the Stegreif Orchester, which is essentially another big community. For a special project there called #bfree, I pursued the vision of uniting people from different countries through music. I travelled through almost 25 countries with my folding bike and pocket trumpet, learning people’s songs on the streets. These experiences showed me that community is incredibly powerful – it can help us understand each other and live together in peace.

Why do you make music?

I believe that music is a language of the heart, not the mind. It supports us, creates a sense of belonging, and enables us to express ourselves authentically. It makes us free. Singing, in particular, is an expression of the soul. I have never seen anyone feel worse after singing than before.

What would you like community music in Bonn to be like?

The Beethovenfest team and I asked ourselves this question: What does community music mean in the context of a festival, as opposed to the ongoing operation of a concert hall? Throughout the year, we will go through different phases, a bit like the natural seasons. September, during Beethovenfest, is the harvest phase, when everything comes together and is celebrated. I will also explore places in Bonn where city festivals, music clubs and initiatives already exist, and consider how community music could enrich them. This will allow the project to grow organically within society rather than being imposed upon it.

What activities will you be initiating over the coming months and years?

We are starting with two major projects. Firstly, we are setting up a community choir in the Tannenbusch neighbourhood. There, we will learn composition signs together. These hand signs convey musical instructions that I give. This makes it possible to improvise and create new pieces, and is just as exciting for experienced singers as it is for those with no prior knowledge. The choir is open to everyone, regardless of age, origin, or social background. Over time, we will develop our own songs addressing personal experiences and social issues. In the long term, I would like to collect such songs from across Bonn.

The second project is the Community Jam, which is an open jam session aimed at instrumental musicians. This dynamic and inclusive group will be open to new members at all times. The ultimate goal is to establish a permanent Beethovenfest Community Music Band to accompany the choir or open the sessions. As well as making music, the idea is to meet and socialise in a relaxed atmosphere with snacks. Music hand signs will also be used to make it accessible to those who have never improvised before.

I also have lots of other ideas for the coming years. For example, there could be songwriting workshops for families or older people to share their knowledge of Bonn or their life experiences through song. I would also like to initiate collaborations between community music departments in Germany. Perhaps later, we could share the findings via a podcast or another medium. Incredible stories happen in community music that can inspire others.

Do I need any prior experience to participate in your community music programme? Does it matter what kind of music I normally make?

With the choir, no previous experience is necessary. It's welcome, but not necessary. For the jam session, I hope that people have a basic understanding of their instrument. It doesn’t matter what instrument you play or what genre of music you specialise in, whether it’s classical, jazz, folk, world music, reggae, hip-hop or electronic music.

At this year’s festival, you will help organise the Tannenbusch Music Festival on 7 September. What can visitors look forward to?

The Tannenbusch festival brings together musicians from Bonn, Beethovenfest artists and myself. It will showcase the processes we have undergone in community music. The audience can look forward to a small choir concert and a jam session. The Tannenbusch Gymnasium school orchestra and the Stegreif Orchester will perform together and individually. I am also offering an experience space where people can get to know musical sign language in the form of a vocal liberation workshop.

Our motto for Beethovenfest 2025 is »Alles ultra«. What are you ultra in?

I see »Alles ultra« as a reflection of our world, where everything often seems extreme, loud and exaggerated. My intention is to counteract that. In other words, I want to be as little »ultra« as possible, and to be »ultra« in exactly that.