German musicians put on a dazzling performance for Jeddawis with an exciting fusion of jazz and classical music on May 18 at the Italian Cultural Center (L-R) Dr. Michael Zickerick, the German Consul General; Olivia Trummer, German pianist; Bodek Janke, Jazz musician from Germany; and Angelika Zickerick, the wife of the German Consul General. The event was organized by the German consulate, under the supervision of Dr. Michael Zickerick, the German Consul General. The program featured German pianist, vocalist and composer Olivia Trummer and percussionist Bodek Janke. They played several original pieces of music including “Love at first sight”, ”Sonata”, “Karwan”, “Morning Dance”, “Everything we do is music” and several other pieces. Zickerick said he was pleased with the turnout at the event and glad to highlight a part of German culture. “Tonight was an effort to bring people together; to help in the exchange of culture,” he remarked in his welcoming address. “We are very pleased to see such a large number of people, who are interested in European music and in the performances of these German musicians.” Trummer and Janke said it was a pleasure for them to play for the people of Jeddah. “It was a pleasure and honor to play tonight and have a wonderful audience. Everyone knows that music doesn't have any borders, it's a universal language so it reaches every heart. We are really happy to be here,” said Trummer. Trummer said she was born in 1985 into a family of professional musicians and began her music studies at the age of four with her mother, pianist/organist Michaela Hartmann-Trummer and her father, pianist/conductor Enrico Trummer. From the very beginning, she was interested not only in classical music, but also in improvisation and composition which finally led her to study both classical piano and jazz at the University of Music in Stuttgart, Germany, where she graduated with distinction in July 2008. She almost exclusively presents original compositions. Even in her classical concerts, she involves elements of improvisation. Olivia has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. Her discography includes her debut album with jazz trio “Nach Norden” and her second album, “Westwind”. On her third album “Nobody knows” (2010), she is featured not only as a pianist/composer, but for the first time also as a vocalist and songwriter with four of her own songs. Janke is also from a musical family and is Polish-Russian. He received his classical percussion and music theory education at the Badisches Konservatorium Karlsruhe/Germany. From 1998 to 2004 he studied jazz-drums and jazz-composition at the Academy of Music of Cologne and graduated “with distinction”. He completed his studies in 2007 with a “Master of Arts and Music Performance” and a diploma from the City College of New York. Janke told Saudi Gazette that he learned to play the “tabla” from an Indian teacher he found in New York. His love of music also took him to India. Janke has been dubbed “above-average”, “outstanding” and “a master of many dialects” by international journalists. He has performed several times at Carnegie Hall in New York and in 2008, he was awarded the “German Records Critics' Award” on Trummer's CD “Westwind”. Currently Janke is focusing on recording his own second own album “Global Dance Culture”.
