GAUKLER TRIO

The GauklerTrio tells fairy tales with the help of instruments, melodies and sound improvisation. There is a narrator, Nicole Wacker (soprano), and two instrumentalists: Santiago Bernal Montaña (cello) and Anna Srodecka (violin). The performances are aimed at children of all ages, who are invited to improvise and explore sounds with simple instruments and objects. The narrator can pause at any time in her story, and interact with the children. Interacting with the children not only creates space to improvise with the sounds, but also with the narrative: Should the children want to make different choices than the character in the fairy tale, new storylines can be developed ad hoc. There are many ways to perform these fairy tales in sound: They can be offered to school and kindergarten classes, in leisure time in libraries or small concert halls, online as interactive livestreams or maybe even in hospitals on children’s wards. Because as the name suggests, the GauklerTrio is very mobile and can set up camp wherever it is desired. This also gives the trio a flexibility that is indispensable in Corona times.

Fairy tales stand for long-lasting tradition and the bond between generations. Storytelling unites a community, takes on an important social role and is correspondingly important in crisis situations to cope with what is happening in the world. Music and sound, meanwhile, stimulates the imagination, has a comforting effect and creates intimacy among strangers in an audience. Intimacy that is missing in times like these.

Not only are children a very receptive audience for a concept that stimulates the imagination and blurs the lines between magic and reality, they are also much more sensitive (albeit resilient!) than one might assume. Accordingly, it was obvious to develop our own fairy tale to help children come to terms with the current Corona crisis. This is how the Covid fairy tale came about, written by Nicole Wacker, who has been writing stories and novels since she was a child. The story was to play a role in isolation and loneliness, fear and the difficulty of coping alone. It should tell how resilience and imagination triumph over crisis. How the true revolution against the crisis is joy, not struggle, resistance and anger. That may sound a bit naïve – but isn’t that exactly the point?

As mentioned earlier, the children are invited to sound improvisation, guided by the three musicians. However, there are always two stages in the plot of the fairy tale: One in which sounds are imitated and explored, and one in which the sounds awaken memories and feelings and become melodies. Santiago Bernal Montaña is not only a cellist but also a composer and he will also develop the music for the Covid fairy tale. His music has influences from Latin American folklore, jazz and modal music. He draws inspiration from everyday life stories and folk tales.

In this way, all three musicians bring their own unique treasure to the fairy tale.

For more information contact us: gauklertrio@gmail.com