Freundeskreis

The nucleus of the Freundeskreis was a group of music-loving festival-goers who had formed since the Musikfestival was founded in 1997. During a dinner in 2001 at the home of Prof. Dr. Dr. Konrad and Ursula Beyreuther, the idea was born to organize it formally. A few days later, on October 16, 2001, the founding meeting of the Freundeskreis took place with around 20 members in the Villa Bosch provided by SAP founder and patron Dr. h. c. Klaus Tschira. The aim was to be able to support the Musikfestival through broad civic involvement.

From the very beginning, not only private individuals but also well-known companies in the region, such as Heidelberg Materials, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, MLP and BASF, joined the Freundeskreis. He soon made a significant contribution to financing the Musikfestival.

With the rapidly developing importance of the Musikfestival and the resulting cultural enterprise Heidelberger Frühling, which now includes several festivals, concerts, competitions, academies and other artistic activities, the number of members has risen sharply. Today, almost 1,250 members belong to the "Frühlings" family.

In addition to attending concerts and intensive encounters during the festival weeks, members come together on a variety of occasions: In addition to concert introductions, artist talks and joint rehearsal visits, the Freundeskreis can attend musicological lectures and take part in exclusive events such as the big summer festival or the Advent singing. Every year, the Freundeskreis also offers a joint trip to discover cities of culture and music. Current and past activities

Heidelberger Frühling brings up-and-coming artists to Heidelberg year after year. Young artists from all over the world have the opportunity to participate in academies and competitions, to realize their ideas in their own artistic projects or to grow musically in the context of festival and concert performances. The host family program supports the young talents by offering them a temporary home. In the lived community, an exchange about the common passion for music becomes possible across different cultures and generations.

Gabriele von Weizsäcker, 1st Chairwoman
Director of Heidelberger Frühling Thorsten Schmidt, 2nd Chairman
Barbara Knüchel, Secretary
Thomas Bruder, Treasurer
Dr. Peer Hübel, Young Freundeskreis Representative

Heidelberger Frühling Freundeskreis e.V.
Dr. Lioba Schmitt-Imkamp
+49 (0)6221 584 00 41
l.schmitt-imkamp@heidelberger-fruehling.de