Youth Plays – “Jugend musiziert” – “JUMU” is the most well-known music competition for young people in Germany and Europe. The idea of the competition was born in 1963 and for over 60 years has provided young musicians with the opportunity to showcase their talents on various musical stages while discovering their abilities and opening pathways to musical education. In the three-stage competition (at the local level – individual countries, regional level – 3 groups in Europe, and federal level – the finale in Germany), over 22,000 participants from more than 30 countries take part each year, making it one of the largest and most successful international youth competitions.

This year’s 28th regional competition “Jugend musiziert” will take place in Warsaw from March 20-24, 2024, under the honorary patronage of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Poland -Viktor Elbling, and the Mayor of the City of Warsaw – Rafał Trzaskowski. The substantive patronage over the event has been taken by the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, giving the competition high prestige.

The competition strongly aligns with the values of international cooperation and dialogue, in line with the slogan “music connects people,” as well as with the hospitality and openness of Warsaw, which garners great interest from the competition participants, organizers, and their families.

Willy Brandt Campus

The host of the competition for these five days will be the Polish-German School of Meetings and Dialogue named after Willy Brandt, located in Warsaw’s Wilanów district. In the classical music category, the competition will be supported locally by the neighboring and befriended Akademeia High School.

The Polish-German School of Meetings and Dialogue named after Willy Brandt is the only school in Poland that has been offering certified education based on the German curriculum for over 40 years. Along with the German Kindergarten, WBS Music Academy, and BVB Football Academy WBS Warsaw, it forms the Willy Brandt Campus, a place of Polish-German meetings. Since 2005, WBS has operated based on the “Polish-German School Agreement” and has been an institution of educational policy in both countries. In line with the mission of the Campus, over a thousand students of the school, preschool children, football players, and young musicians uphold Willy Brandt’s message of tolerance, cooperation, international dialogue, and fair play every day.

Talent Forge

Young musicians will compete in several classical and pop categories, both solo and in duets or groups. A lot of excitement surrounds rarely encountered categories such as organ, wind instruments, or plucked string instruments. One can also witness a rare musical performance in the form of four people playing on two pianos, known as the Eight-Handed Piano category. The categories this year are surprising and make this competition exceptional.

Organizers of the competition take particular pride and satisfaction in the fact that Polish youth has repeatedly been able to participate in many competitions across Europe, always being warmly welcomed and achieving great success. Artists must perform, they must play, they must sing, and we are delighted that this year in Poland, we can contribute to discovering further talents and create conducive conditions for them. Among the Polish successes in the finals of “Youth Plays,” we have first, second, and third prizes in solo categories of guitar, saxophone, and percussion. We have many competition laureates, and at WBS, there is always talk of the exceptional performances by Max, Emi, Jan, Magda, May, and Łukasz, along with their accompanying colleagues. This group of wonderful young people is led by Sara Lobnig, a two-time first-place winner in the pop singing category at the national finale in Germany. She is a young and very talented lyricist and composer and this year’s high school graduate whom younger generations of girls aspire to emulate, the next generation of talents embarking on their journey with singing and the JUMU competition.

Willy Brandt School

Św. Urszuli Ledóchowskiej 3,

wbs.pl