Explosion of Musical Wonders in Wuppertal
April 2023

Wuppertal show
Photo © Chris Simmons

Statue of the elephant Tuffi beneath the Schwebebahn
Photo © Jo Hackett

We were thrilled to be invited to play with both orchestra and choir for three nights in Wuppertal, Germany.

We were greeted warmly by the organisers, their team, orchestra and choir. Special guest Amanda Lehmann sang on the first night though due to laryngitis she lost her voice, but she still sounded fabulous on guitar and it was wonderful to have her with us for the three nights. The band were on top form and both choir and orchestra sounded amazing. The performance was tremendously powerful and the crowd ecstatic! We received extraordinary standing ovations every night... All three shows unfolded like a magical dream.

The Wuppertal team kindly arranged for us to have a tour of the city, where we heard several fascinating stories including that of the elephant Tuffi who was taken for a ride on the monorail train (which hangs from above) in the 1950s. The poor elephant panicked and broke through the side of the train, falling into the river below. Luckily she survived with just minor injuries and lived to an old age. Christian Gerhardts kindly arranged for us to ride on this train (the Schwebebahn) which was great fun, and there below we saw a statue of Tuffi at the spot where she fell.

Our time in Wuppertal was wonderful. My thanks to Michael Ackerman, Markus Grebe and the team as well as conductor Brad Thachuk, the orchestra and choir for such an unforgettable experience.