Superar uses music to inspire children and young people and make a discernible step towards a society of equal opportunity.
'Superar': To overcome (boundaries),to surpass (oneself)
Social change through music
Superar was founded in 2009, originally under the name 'Vorlaut'. Inspired by the ideas of MaestroJoséAntonioAbreu, who since 1975 has been a strong socio-political force in Venezuela with his initiative El Sistema, the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, the Vienna Concert Hall and Vienna Boys' Choir joined forces to bring the concept to Vienna and offer children and young people free and easy access to music.
At Superar, all children and young people who are interested in taking part have the opportunity not only to develop their musical skills, but also to discover their creative potential and experience a positive community spirit through working together. Regular singing and orchestra practice don't just develop vocal skills, body language and musical understanding –they also, and most importantly, build character. Superar's aim in doing so is to improve the chances of children and young people in our society in the future.
The intention is for these positive effects of musical training to be widespread across society through structures that make it as easy as possible to become part of Superar.
We consider ourselves to be an association which is building a musical bridge between western and eastern Europe and one that places great value on integration as well as respectful and harmonious living side by side within society.
Superar is a not-for-profit association. Our founding members are Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, the Vienna Concert Hall and the Vienna Boys' Choir. Our main partners are the Hilti Foundation and the ERSTE Foundation.
Our concept and organisation
Superar is based in Vienna but is also present in surrounding locations in four other Austrian regions (namely Vienna, Salzburg, Styria and Vorarlberg) and in 11 international locations in five other countries (Romania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Slovakia). What we offer varies between the locations where we are present: we have established cooperation agreements with schools and/or we provide free choir and/or orchestra courses. In Austria, we have 16 cooperation agreements with schools which enable us to organise classroom activities. Alongside this, in Vienna we currently offer six 'open-house' singing courses and one orchestra course, which are free and accessible to any children and young people interested in taking part.
The Superar OrchestraVienna was established in April 2013 in Vienna and now trains around 60 children. All children enter as beginners and learn how to play their instruments in group lessons. The Orchestra is lead by Bruno Campo.
Regular rehearsals take place during both the free courses and classes between twice and four times a week to ensure that the participants keep on improving and achieving success. Programme coordination between our various classes allows us to organise joint performances both nationally and internationally and strengthens the common sense of achievement. Our advanced modules allow any children and young people who are interested to further develop their talents and deliver outstanding performances.
We were established just five years agobut have already expanded our horizons and made a real difference as a movement.
In autumn 2009, we started working at three schools in Vienna, training around 350 children and young people. Five years on, weare training 1100 children and young people in 16 locations around Austria. We also opened a new location in Salzburg in October 2014, complementing locations in Vienna, Graz and Vorarlberg. Abroad, we are training 820 children and young people at 11 locations across Slovakia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Romania and Bosnia. Since October 2014, the Superar Centre (which houses three rehearsal rooms, administrative offices and an events hall) has been open at no 19, Brotfabrik in the Vienna district of Favoriten.
Since 2013, Superar Austria has played a leading role in the development of an EU project called EL SISTEMA EUROPE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, whose raison d'être is to promote networking and cultural exchanges and train musicians from the countries involved in it.
Since 2013, we have also organised international music camps for children and young people taking part in Superar programmes.
"Superar changes many aspects of these children's lives for the better. They receive recognition, the opportunity to develop themselves and to blossom. Some are taking their first trip away and experiencing the joy of performing together. We also support Superar's ideas because of its international mindset. There's no better way to do this than with music," says DorajaEberle, the Chair of Trustees at the ERSTE Foundation, who, with her knowledge of local civil society and contacts across her training and social network in eastern Europe, supports Superar events.
"At Superar, it's not about giving children a stronger voice because these children sing loudly and clearly for themselves," adds Caritas President MichaelLandau. "It is voices, both individual and united as one, which form part of the one great concert that makes up society. Anyone who has ever heard these voices knows that they enrich our society, giving it a more beautiful, deeper sound – usually united and always in a major key. As Caritas, we together with our partners want to give these children a stage. What we get from these children and young people in return is worth much more though. Music that touches the heart and, at best, improves these young people's futures," adds Landau.
If you have any enquiries, please contact:
MonikaWildnerAngelikaLošek
Superar Press OfficerManaging Director
+43 (0)664 3836464+43 (0)664 8429741
Additional information
➢The musical concept
Encourage, inspire, support, for a positive experience of joint creative work
At Superar, our work centres around providing regular choir and orchestra lessons for children free of charge. Lessons follow their own syllabi and usually take the form of group activities. The rule is that any child who is interested can join and will be supported to achieve the highest level of musical proficiency, whilst studying in an environment that combines the right balance of fun and productive responsibility towards other members. Our methods ensure that a joint sense of achievement forms relatively quickly, providing further motivation.
According to GeraldWirth, one of the founders of Superar and Artistic Director of the Vienna Boys' Choir and Superar, "Superar is a broadly based music support programme but we also emphasise artistic excellence and the will to achieve excellence together with Superar. The fact that these components are an integral part of the concept is a matter of showing the participants that they are worth it".
Recognition and (international) cultural exchanges as an important teaching principle
An important part of what we do at Superar is showcasing the achievements of our pupils at professional concerts. Regular concerts in front of an audience reinforce our pupils' confidence and awaken their enthusiasm. Some of our highlights include a choir performance by 80 Superar children at the opening of the Eurovision Song Contest on 23May2015 in Vienna and a performance by the Superar choir in Bosnia during the Pope's visit to Sarajevo on 6June2015. Another was the joint performance given by several choirs from Superar locations across Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Romania, Bosnia and Turkey, accompanied by members of the National Youth Choir of Venezuela, who took part in two concerts featuring up to 400 choir singers during the Salzburg Festival in summer 2013.
Moreover, every year, large gala concerts take place at renowned cultural institutions such as the Vienna Concert Hall and the Vienna Boys' Choir's Muth Concert Hall, which are important events on the calendar for us and involve all Superar groups. In 2015, Superar's Switzerland Orchestra visited Vienna as guests at the Muth concerts that traditionally take place at the end of the school year, while children from Vienna headed to the Tonhalle concert in Zurich. Another highlight was the Superar Summer Camp in Summer 2015, where around 120 children from Superar Austria, Superar Bosnia and from the partner organisations MAP (Music Art Project –Serbia) and SODO (System of Orchestras for children and youth –Croatia) made music together for three days in Vienna.
"What I find most impressive is that Superar classes from different countries learn a common repertoire and perform together regularly to the public both at home and abroad. By doing this, the children grow with every event, gain confidence and embody the 'Superar: excel yourself' motto," says MichaelHilti, who has worked with El Sistema for a long time through the Hilti Foundation. He is now spreading his idea through Superar in Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
➢Socio-political and educational impetus
Skills that strengthen lives
Supporting every single child effectively, allowing them to realise their vocal potential and introducing them to musical instruments trains their ability to focus, motivation to perform, creativity and confidence. Working together creatively strongly reinforces a sense of community, communication skills, consideration for others, tolerance and the ability to accept criticism. Passing on these skills is a fundamental part of our concept and is at the core of the socio-political and education policy issues.
"By aiming for artistic excellence, Superar is promoting the importance of skills and creativity and, at the same time, demonstrating that achievement has a positive impact and that the effort put in is worth it. Deloitte and Superar embody a commitment to excellence: both are highly professional, and have great ambition and a clear business concept. As an economic, financial and human capital expert, Deloitte believes in this return-on-investment for society and feels the need to commit to this," says DrBernhardGröhs, Managing Partner at Deloitte Austria, one of our main partners.
Groups fully engaged in the community
By supporting and guiding children respectfully and enabling them to express their great enthusiasm at public performances, our movement is also transferred to the pupils' immediate environment. The pupils' environmentis directly integrated as far as possible into our activities. "This approach is a fundamental part of our work. It enhances Superar's effect on families and their communities and promotes a mutual respect for the medium of music across vast swathes of society,"says WernerBinnenstein-Bachstein, who, as President of the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, helped to found Superar in 2009 and is now our Vice President.
"Now, there are over 250 projects worldwide that have recognised that music is a medium for social change, realising MaestroAbreu's vision in their own countries and cultures. Superar is one such initiative and every day we take pride and pleasure in our work to promote his vision," says AngelikaLošek, our Managing Director.
If you have any enquiries, please contact:
MonikaWildnerAngelikaLošek
Superar Press OfficerManaging Director
+43 (0)664 3836464+43 (0)664 8429741
About Superar
Superar is a European initiative which aims to provide basic musical training and encouragement for children and young people from all corners of society. Free and high-quality choir and orchestra classes are used as a way of crossing social, religious and national boundaries. Regular joint music-making events not only develop the vocal skills and musical understanding of every single participant, but also, as positive experiences of joint creativity, improve their prospects in tomorrow's society.
The Superar association was established in 2009 in Vienna by the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, the Vienna Concert Hall and the Vienna Boys' Choir. Our main partners are the Hilti Foundation and the ERSTE Foundation. Superar is currently training around 1100 children and young people across 16 locations around Austria as well as 820children and young people at 11 locations across Slovakia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Romania and Bosnia. Superar forms part of the Sistema Europe Network.
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