For the celebration of World Languages Week, the Alpine Thunder music group came to Libertyville High School to perform various folk and pop German songs. The members of the group: Gabriel, Cornell and Chris put on an interactive and lively performance in the auditorium, surely engaging many students in the audience.
They performed a variety of German songs, unfamiliar to the ears of many listeners in the audience. However, not all of these songs were entirely unfamiliar. Edelweiss, an old yet traditional tune in both America and Germany, was played on cowbells by the lead performer, Gabriel. As he explains the origins of the song, Gabriel tells the audience that Edelweiss is actually the name of a flower that grows well in the Alps and is also the national flower of Switzerland. Placing the bells into his bag, he goes through the numbers 1-7, but in German, engaging students and teaching them how to count.
These jolly tunes encouraged many students in the audience to start clapping and dancing.
In between songs, the group tells of their origins, and how they became conjoined together. Originally, Gabriel and Cornell grew up learning many of these songs, as they actually are cousins. They later met Chris, and soon became known as Alpine Thunder.
Later performing another song, Gabriel invites any and all audience members to come on stage to dance the “Polka” whilst they play an accompaniment that goes along with the dance. They invite the audience members on stage to have fun and dance in ways they feel best fit along with the song and can enhance the “Polka” dance.
“It makes your day a little bit happier when you do the ‘Polka’,” Gabe said to the audience members after finishing the piece.
With the continuation of their interactive concert, Alpine Thunder plays a yodelling piece and teaches the audience how they can yodel as well!
“When you start yodelling you will make the people next to you start laughing,” Gabe said, “Which is good because then you’re making them happy!”
As they played more interactive songs, inviting audience members to the stage, nearly everyone joined the group and danced together. The joyous laughter of the audience members filled the auditorium as the group put on nothing short of a pleasurable and electrifying show.
Alpine Thunder performs at numerous venues throughout Illinois, especially at the Edelweiss restaurant in Norwich, IL every weekend.
“German culture is a good thing to know about, and that it’s alive in the world,” Gabe said, “It fits with all other cultures in the world.”
