Cultural exchange and plans for the future: representatives of the city and local music clubs visit twin town
Rheine. Five music enthusiasts from Rheine visited the twin city of Trakai in Lithuania last weekend to take part in Trakai Fanfare Week 2025 – an international festival that brings together young talent with outstanding professional musicians from all over Europe for the 20th time. The delegation included Jan-Christoph Tonigs, Head of City Culture Rheine, Pia Hibbe and Christopher Gress from the Rodde Wind Orchestra as well as Matthias Winkler and Thomas Kraft from the Musikverein AltenRheine.
The Fanfare Week offers a week of masterclasses and rehearsals for brass players, saxophonists and percussionists under the guidance of internationally renowned musicians from the brass music scene. The highlight is the big final concert on Sunday, where the participants perform together on stage.
In addition to the intensive rehearsals, the festival also offered free evening concerts by the professionals – unforgettable musical experiences that took place in the large church at Trakai and at the music school, among other venues.
Among the highlights were the performances of the Vilnius Jazz Ensemble and the Stockholm Chamber Brass Ensemble, both of which thrilled audiences with sensational performances. After the concerts, the audience moved on to the nearby bar next to the music school, where spontaneous sessions and smaller concerts took place.
This relaxed atmosphere not only offered even more great music, but also the opportunity to talk to the international stars, the organizers and all the other festival participants.
The founder and artistic director of the festival is Arvydas Mišeikis, who runs Fanfare Week with his wife and music school director Neringa Mišeikienė. To mark its 20th anniversary, this year’s festival was particularly festive – the visit by the delegation from Rheine once again underlined the close cultural ties with Trakai. The Rheiner delegation also used the visit to discuss future projects with those responsible at Trakai. The plan is to enable three to four young musicians from Rheine to take part in Fanfare Week in 2026 – a unique opportunity for international musical experiences and a further step towards keeping the partnership between the two cities alive. www.friendsineurope.com