50 Anniversary of the German Exchange

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Schedule of Events

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Transatlantic Celebration

First Visit and Anniversary Events in Norfolk, Virginia

March 22 Arrival of 15 students from Copernicus-Gymnasium who are the official participants in the 50th annual exchange with faculty chaperones.

March 24 Arrival of 36 student-musicians from CopernicusGymnasium and faculty members,

March 25-26 Weekend of activities with host families

March 27-31 Week of rehearsals for student-musicians and trips to historic sites in the region, including Jamestown, and Yorktown. Visitors will also explore the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and downtown Norfolk.

April 1 50th Anniversary Concert and Receptionat Norfolk Academy

April 2 Departure of German student-musicians and faculty who were participants in the concert celebration. German exchange students and faculty chaperones remain in Virginia through April 8.

Second Visit and Anniversary Events in Löningen, Germany

June 1 Arrival of 15 exchange students from Norfolk Academy and two faculty chaperones.

June 11 Arrival of 23 student-musicians from Norfolk (members of the chorus) and eight administrators.

June 12-15 Week of rehearsals by student-musicians. While in the region, students and faculty will visit Bremen, Bremerhaven, and Cloppenburg.

June 16 50th Anniversary Concert at Copernicus-Gymnasium

June 21 The entire Norfolk Academy delegation heads home, marking the conclusion of the 50th Anniversary Transatlantic Celebration.

Welcome, Friends!

What an honor it is to welcome all of you to this event, the first of a transatlantic pair of concerts to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the vibrant friendship between Copernicus-Gymnasium and Norfolk Academy!

This is a moment that has been a half century in the making, one that constitutes both a reflection upon, and culmination of, countless other moments of kinship over five decades. It began with a spark of friendship between two kindred spirits: Frau Katherine Holmes, who led Norfolk Academy’s Foreign Language Department for decades, and Jürgen Wiehe, who worked at Copernicus-Gymnasium culminating in a tenure as the school’s headmaster. That originating friendship built the trust that began with a first trip in 1973, and it set the stage for all that was to come. If we listen carefully, we can hear the echoes through time — the mingling of German and English phrases, as students shared stories and laughter during excursions to historic sites and museums, walks in parks and along the beach, and meals at restaurants and around kitchen tables. In many cases, friendships that began with the exchange blossomed and endured over the years, giving rise to additional phone calls and letters (and in the modern era, to emails and texts) and trips to spend time together in adulthood. Over the years, the vitality of the exchange, and the power of Norfolk Academy’s nationally recognized German language program, prompted many NA graduates to fall in love with German language and literature, and continue with a German major or minor in college. We are profoundly grateful for all of the benefits that this exchange has brought to both schools!

Yet, even as we look back with appreciation, we are aware of the irresistible pull of the future. Steve Prince, an African American artist whose work was recently exhibited in our school’s Perrel Gallery, showed us a sculpture that he had created of the Sankofa, a mythical bird with its head gazing backward and its feet positioned firmly forward. I was struck by this evocative symbol, which draws from a proverb in the native language of Ghana that encourages us to learn from the past as we step toward the future. In these turbulent times around the globe, we embrace the optimism of our evergreen friendship, renewing each year through acts of diligence and love.

Onward, to the next 50 years!

Dennis G. Manning Headmaster Norfolk Academy

Dear Norfolk Academy Community and Friends, Relationships, we believe, are at the core of our work with students.

Dennis Manning, my dear colleague and friend, wrote these marking words in his welcome letter on the occasion of our anniversary 201 3. Looking back on our now 50 years of friendship with Norfolk Academy, I agree entirely. Both of our schools share that same philosophy, encouraging young people to develop their confidence and character, promoting personal growth. Decade after decade, exchange after exchange, hundreds of students and families on both sides of the ocean profited from this relationship-building, resulting in a deep and long-lasting friendship between our two schools.

Nowadays this design of international partnership is more important than ever, hopefully serving as an example for other schools or organizations.

On behalf of the Copernicus-Gymnasium community, it is my pleasure to express our deep gratitude concerning the great hospitality we have enjoyed over the last decades. We are very much looking forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary of our partnership in Norfolk this spring as well as in Löningen this summer. It is our obligation not only to hold on to the longest standing international exchange between a German and an American school but also to try to enhance it for another 50 years to come.

Ralf Göken Headmaster Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen

A Brief History of the Exchange

Fittingly, the seeds for the Norfolk Academy and CopernicusGymnasium exchange began sprouting on opposite sides of the Atlantic nearly simultaneously in 1973. In Virginia, State Supervisor of Foreign Languages Helen Warriner sent a letter to long-time Academy Headmaster J.B. Massey, asking the school to participate in an exchange with a West German school. The exchange would be sponsored by the Council on International Education Exchange, or CIEE, in New York City. Mr. Massey recruited B. Lovitt, director of the Royster Girls’ Division, and Katherine Holmes, high school German teacher, to the initiative, and they filled out the paperwork to find a match.

About 90 miles from the Dutch border in West Germany, Jürgen Wiehe of Copernicus-Gymnasium engaged in the same process. The European Exchange Service in Frankfurt was searching for German partner schools, and while it was a challenge for the new school to tackle such a program, future headmaster Herr Wiehe was up to the task. The CIEE paired the two schools and Frau Holmes made her now legendary first long-distance call to Löningen. From the first moment of communication, it was clear this was a well-made match.

Herr Wiehe escorted the first group of exchange students, chaperoning 16 German high schoolers to Virginia in mid-March 1974. The students were hosted by their American counterparts and attended classes at the Academy in between touring local areas of interest. In turn, Frau Holmes led 15 American students back to West Germany in June of that year. Whether or not those trips were successful can be determined simply by the fact that they have continued ever since, with the 50th anniversary being celebrated this year. The exchange has survived multiple historical events, including the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the interruption necessitated by the Covid 19 pandemic, and emerged even stronger.

While Herr Wiehe retired in 2005 (and sadly passed away in 2009), and Frau Holmes retired in 2016, their pioneering efforts have been carried on in exemplary fashion by over 50 motivated chaperones and supportive administrators, including current respective headmasters Dennis Manning and Ralf Göken. In 2002, Norfolk Academy announced an endowment in honor of Katherine Holmes to provide scholarship assistance to a student to allow them to participate in an exchange.

In addition to the annual exchange, there have been two “extra” trips between the schools since 1973. Frank Whitman and the Norfolk Academy chorus included a stop in Löningen on their European tour in 1994. In 2002, Herr Wiehe was so impressed by the Academy Players’ performance of And Then They Came For Me: Remembering Anne Frank, that he issued a special invitation for the corps to travel and perform it at Copernicus-Gymnasium and other local schools. This year, 35 German musicians will travel alongside the exchange students in order to perform at the anniversary celebration, with 23 of their American choral counterparts making the return trip in June for the German-based event.

To date, over 1,500 students have participated in the exchange, including several second generation travelers. Many participants and host families have stayed connected across the time and distance, as the ripple effect of the exchange continues to grow. It holds the honor of being the longest running school exchange between Germany and America, and there is no sign of it ending any time soon. The roots of this friendship are strong, and the possibility for further growth is endless.

An Historic Friendship

Remembering a Good Friend: A Pillar of our German Exchange Program

A tribute by Mr. Chris Nelson from the Fall 2009 Academy Magazine

He was a big burly bear of a man with a booming baritone voice. He was a robust, rugged and confident force in any setting. He was an adventuresome, passionate and indomitable optimist, unflagging and indefatigable in all endeavors. He was the “poster boy” for German-American relations, especially in recent years when those relations were strained. He saw only opportunities where others saw problems, and he sought to reconcile those problems with an energy that seemed both timeless and infinite. And so it was with great shock and disbelief that the Academy received the grievous news on Sunday, August 30, 2009, that Jürgen Wiehe, erstwhile Headmaster of the Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen, our partner school in Germany, had died suddenly while en route home after having visited his children and grandchildren in Southern Germany.

Jürgen Wiehe grew up not far from Löningen, a young boy finding his way in a devastated post-war Germany. He graduated from high school in 1961 and majored in English and History at the University of Hamburg. After completing his state examinations, he joined the Gymnasium in Löningen as it came into being in 1968. He occupied every position imaginable during his successful tenure at the Gymnasium, ultimately assuming the office headmaster in 1988. At his 2005 retirement, no fewer than fourteen speakers congratulated, extolled, and thanked him for his 38 years of selfless service. Through the motto “fordern und fördern” he articulated his philosophy of education. Require (fordern) a great deal from students while at the same time promoting (fördern) them and all they do. The Parents Council

Chairwoman expressed an entire town’s gratitude thus, “You have accomplished great things for Löningen.”

Wiehe was also a tireless community leader. He served for more than a generation as a Löningen city councilman, church elder, and Schützenkönig (but that’s a whole ’nother story)! He celebrated community, school, and family events with a gusto that one seldom encounters nowadays. He never met a party he didn’t like.

In his retirement, Jürgen and his wife, Karin, whom he dearly loved and who always stood by his side, enjoyed more free time together and traveled more extensively than ever. They were able to enjoy their new-found time with their children, Claudia and Frank, as well as with their three grandchildren.

At the reception following Jürgen’s funeral, Jürgen’s son, Frank, after expressing his family’s gratitude for the tremendous support and condolences of guests, offered gracious words expressing roughly the following: “There were two things of which he was most proud. The first was his family. The second was the exchange he helped start with the Norfolk Academy in 1973.”

In an article he wrote for the 25th anniversary chronicle of the Gymnasium Löningen in 1990, Wiehe recalled, “it happened in 1973.” The European Exchange Service in Frankfurt was seeking German partner schools for a few schools in the USA. They were also looking for chaperones who were ready and able to travel to America around Easter 1974 with up to fifteen students for a three-week exchange. That letter from Frankfurt, which landed on my desk, was a challenge for the still young Gymnasium Löningen. And so it was that I received permission from our Headmaster to attend a short orientation seminar in Düsseldorf in the fall of 1973. It was clear that all preparations for beginning this exchange were ready. But who would be our partner?

Jürgen Wiehe Founding Father of the Exchange

It must have been around the end of January, 1974, when the phone in my office rang right before school let out for the day. My secretary told me quite excitedly that it was a long-distance call from America. A cordial alto voice, with scarcely a hint of an American accent, turned out to be Katherine Holmes. [If Jürgen Wiehe was the “Founding Father,” then Frau Holmes was the “Founding Mother” of the exchange.] She introduced herself as the Head of the German Department at a certain Norfolk Academy. When I inquired as to where, precisely, that city might happen to be located, Ms. Holmes replied rather dryly that I ought first explain to her exactly where Löningen was located since she had not been able to find it in her atlas. She went on to add that Norfolk lay about 200 miles south of Washington, DC, in the state of Virginia, something that any “high school boy would know.” I knew I had met my match. This was the first conversation between us and the one that laid the foundation for our exchange, the longest-running high school exchange between an American and German school. [It was in the spring of 1974 that Jürgen Wiehe chaperoned the first group of fifteen students from the Gymnasium Löningen to Norfolk.] Hopefully this friendship between our schools will continue to last into the future and stretch far beyond the year 2000,” he wrote.

Jürgen’s energies were not confined to the Norfolk Academy – Copernicus-Gymnasium exchange, either. For some fifteen years, the Gymnasium has hosted an exchange group from Poland, a country once on the other side of the “Iron Curtain.” Jürgen believed to his core in building relationships and seeking reconciliation. As an historian, he was fully aware of the horrors visited upon Poland by the invading German army in WWII. He grew up a member of German generation born with the burden of German guilt for WWII, the Holocaust and the subsequent division of Europe into two worlds, one Communist and one free. This was, perhaps, the reality served as the motor for much of the change he sought to effect in his part of the world. For him, reconciliation and relationships among people and among peoples, near and far, were paramount. He would not wait for the world’s political leaders to make the world better. He resolved to do himself where he could.

In 2002, Jürgen and Karin happened to be chaperoning the German exchange group of Norfolk, the last time he visited Norfolk Academy in that capacity. That was the year the Academy Players presented And Then They Came for Me: The Life and Times of Anne Frank, a powerful multimedia production depicting the final weeks of the life of Anne Frank. Jürgen happened to be in the audience in Price Auditorium for a matinee performance, and he was moved. He was moved to bring the Academy Players and their staging of Anne Frank to Germany. Sponsors emerged while Jürgen promoted and coordinated the performances at three different high schools in Germany in July of 2002. For him, reconciliation and relationships were paramount. Once again this March, 2010, a group of nineteen German students with two chaperones will arrive in Norfolk for two weeks with us. Similarly, a group of nineteen American students will depart for Germany and two weeks in Löningen at the end of the school year, 36 years after the first group traveled. In recent years, we have begun to witness the participation of several children of former exchange students. Yes, we are well into our second generation of this exchange, standing on the threshold of the third, and there clearly is no end in sight. This is a relationship that has aged well. And this spring, the grandson of one of the first German host families will be in Norfolk. It really is all about the relationships. Jürgen would be very happy. Surely he must be smiling. He usually did.

A Teacher Without Equal

Published in the Fall 2016 issue of Academy on the occasion of Katherine Holmes’s retirement. The Massey Leadership Center’s main meeting room is named The Holmes Room in her honor.

In nearly a half century of teaching German at Norfolk Academy, Ms. Katherine Holmes instructed students in the intricacies of the German language, leavening her instruction with a razor-sharp wit and a fondness for practical jokes. She started the school’s German exchange program, which has continued annually for 44 years and set high standards as Chair of the Foreign Language Department; in 2007, scores earned by NA students on the AP tests led the College Board to recognize our German language program as one of the best in the nation.

In 1987, Frau Holmes also led our group on an excursion to Berlin... We crossed at Checkpoint Charlie, where steely-eyed guards scanned our passports for far too long before begrudgingly allowing us to pass. A large, menacing sign warned us: “You are now leaving the American sector.” I can only imagine the amount of stress we caused Frau Holmes when some of us wandered in East Berlin...today, when college students ask me about the Wall and the Cold War, I start with my recollections of what I saw that day.

Jiro Tanaka ’89

In his tribute in the Johnson Theater, Chris Nelson recalled coming to Norfolk Academy as a brash young German teacher in 1979, unprepared for the thorough scrutiny he would receive. “Staring over the rims of her glasses,” Frau Holmes asked him some hard questions about his class preparation, delivering the first of many lessons in their decades-long colleagueship:

“What I failed to understand until I met Katherine Holmes was this: It doesn’t matter how good you might be at something. All of us are good at something... but if you’re not using that talent to the benefit of another, you’re really not worth very much in this career and we – Norfolk Academy – really don’t need or want you here. We expect much more!...

Katherine Holmes Founding Mother of the Exchange

I also remember her saying that the teacher should be exhausted after every class, that the class should move smartly through various exercises, drills, readings, and activities to bring students to speak and understand...Katherine Holmes has been a teacher without equal to me, and I can’t thank her enough for her lessons.” He also spoke of the 44-year uninterrupted annual exchange between Norfolk Academy and Copernicus-Gymnasium in Löningen, Germany: “On the German side, Founding Father Jürgen Wiehe, and on the American side, Founding Mother Katherine Holmes forged an agreement to commence a partnership and an exchange between our schools in 1973, way before it was educationally de rigeur to do so... The German exchange has provided approximately 1,500 students this extraordinary opportunity to know someone in another part of the world. To know that person, that person’s family, and to live that person’s life for a couple weeks, to sit and eat at that person’s table. This is the kind of experience that changes a person at a fundamental level.”

Jacob Gusentine ’16, a student in the Senior Class, spoke of the life lessons that Frau Holmes taught through her daily example:

“...What will stay within me are the lessons she taught me about life and the human experience. Frau Holmes instructed these sentiments not in her classroom rhetoric but in her actions. She taught me about the importance of selflessness, through her generous donation to the Epilepsy Foundation on behalf of one of my family members. Through the many spontaneous visits, Christmas cards, and letters from her former students, Frau Holmes taught me that the impact we have on the people in our lives is the most valuable currency in this world. Katherine Holmes is truly unique, and her fierce refusal to conform taught me to invest in who you are and to own it. Her electric and extroverted personality taught me to risk being seen by others and to never apologize for who you are... She taught me that our lives are not measured in wealth or fame. Our lives are measured in the lives we touch. If this sentiment rings true, Katherine Holmes will outlive us all.”

When I couldn’t afford the summer German exchange trip, she created an “assistant” job for me with a stipend, so that I could see Germany and practice speaking the language I loved. I went on to major in German at UVA, study abroad, and work at the liaison office of the German equivalent of NASA, marry a German, and have two beautiful German-speaking children.

Grace Milteer Schafermeier ’84

A Story of Two Headmasters

Anticipating an Extraordinary Milestone in Spring 2023: The 50th Anniversary of the German Exchange Program

An article from the Fall 2022 Academy Magazine

In April 2023, Norfolk Academy and CopernicusGymnasium in Löningen, a small town on the Hase River in northeast Germany, will begin a transatlantic celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the German exchange, a program that has influenced generations of students — teaching them to appreciate one another’s language, culture, traditions, and perspectives.

The exchange was started in 1973 by two teachers who were revered as titans at their schools, and who forged an enduring friendship: Frau Katherine Holmes, who taught students to love the German language and set a high bar for excellence in teaching all languages as Chair of the Foreign Language Department at NA; and Jürgen Wiehe, who was a well-loved and influential teacher at Copernicus.

It was part of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), a program of the U.S. State Department to establish exchanges between secondary schools in the U.S. and what was then West Germany, as Germany remained a divided nation for decades after World War II. West Germany was democratic and allied with the U.S. and NATO, while East Germany was a communist nation in the Soviet-controlled Eastern Bloc.

The exchange has continued uninterrupted from its foundation, (except for two pandemic summers, 2020 and 2021), and both schools believe that its extraordinary tenure is unmatched in either country. At the half-century

mark, it is certainly time to celebrate. The schools have commissioned an original musical piece for chorus, orchestra, and dance. Concerts and other related events for alumni of the exchange are scheduled for April 1 at Norfolk Academy and June 16th at Copernicus-Gymnasium.

This past spring, the headmaster of CopernicusGymnasium, Ralf Göken, came to Norfolk Academy, along with his daughter, Julia, who was a long-term exchange student for 10 weeks this spring, hosted by Sophie Pollio ‘24 and her family. During the visit, Norfolk Academy Headmaster Dennis Manning and Göken sat down for a joint interview with Director of Communications Esther Diskin, which began with the exchange’s importance to both schools:

Manning: I would be hard-pressed to think of a relationship locally, except for one with the city of Norfolk, that has had the depth, meaning, power, and satisfying value of this relationship. When I came here as headmaster more than two decades ago, a trustee told me it was the school’s most important institutional relationship.

Göken: It started in 1973 with our founding mother and father, Katherine Holmes and Jürgen Wiehe, who developed the plans and got on planes to start the relationship. In 1974, the first 15 students came over. From then on, we developed a clear friendship. Copernicus has exchange programs all over Europe, with Italy, Poland, and France, for example. By far, this is the most important exchange that we have, and it results from the way it developed — like a family. The hospitality with the homestays is extremely good.

How did the personalities of the two founders influence the program?

Manning: It was providence — a perfect moment in time and space. In order for the institutions to be “married,” you had to have the right people. Providence was smiling on us with Wiehe and Holmes. They embodied the values. Jürgen treasured NATO and the way that this program mirrored his world view. He had a post-WWII reconstructionist mindset. Katherine had an unswerving commitment to human excellence. She was the consummate teacher.

Göken: Wiehe passed away in 2009, and I started as headmaster in 2015. Jürgen’s wife made an appointment to see me. She wanted me to understand that he cared about two things — his family first, and then this exchange. He was proud that it was the first exchange between a German and an American school.

The program is built around the “homestay.” While students do some touring of major sites and cities in each country, they spend about two weeks in one another’s homes. Do you feel that is fundamental to the program’s longevity and success?

Göken: To get to know the culture, you must stay with the people! For example, I have been staying with Dennis during this visit, and we have had a chance to chat in the evenings. We talk about everything, not only our schools.

Manning: I made Ralf sit through two basketball games and cheer on the Bulldogs the day he arrived!

Göken: You know the people by the way they live their lives, by walking in their footsteps. You see the differences, and you also notice that we aren’t different.

Manning: That’s right. Therein lies the enduring power

of the program and strength of relationships. It’s intellectual, personal, and familial.

How have the two schools influenced one another over the course of this time?

Manning: The quality of German instruction at NA is a differentiator. It’s unique. Even the College Board and AP recognized our students as the top performing German language school in the United States. I remember proudly carrying the newspaper article to Chapel! The German program has informed how we teach other languages — it is the wellspring.

Göken: Chapel — we do not have that tradition in Germany, but I like it. We started it monthly to observe good athletic teams, strong students academically. It brings the whole school together. You do it every day with the speeches! My dream would be to have an exchange of faculty in addition to the students! That would be wonderful!

Manning (laughing): Maybe we should test the faculty exchange idea with the retired headmaster going first!

Göken: You could teach Shakespeare in Germany.

Manning: I would do it for free!

From the Exchange Directors

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrowmindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” So wrote Mark Twain, himself an intrepid traveler, in his novel, The Innocents Abroad, originally a series of travel letters penned in 1867 on a trip to Europe and the Holy Land.

Twain got it right. He appreciated the value of travel, the perspectives and life-changing experiences culled from walking and living in the shoes of another. There is no more certain nor miraculously eye-opening path to peace and understanding among the peoples of the world. If only more of us would dare to walk it!

My first trip abroad commenced in 1976 when I was a German major in college. I spent a year in Freiburg, in what was then West Germany, the free Germany, not all that far from the border that separated the free world from the communist world. Aware of the looming threat of the Cold War, we, my German friends and I, together discovered that we all wanted the same thing — peace and the promises of a peaceful future. Surely, the people on the other side of the East/West divide wanted the same, we believed. Trips to the then East Berlin confirmed our assumptions. The situation begged the question, “Why couldn’t the countries all around the world create exchanges for their young people?” What would be so hard about that?

Fortunately, we at Norfolk Academy had one such visionary in the “Founding Mother” of the German Exchange, Frau Katherine Holmes. She understood early on the transformative power and promise of an exchange experience for young people. Together with “Founding Father,” Jürgen Wiehe, the exchange between Norfolk Academy and the Gymnasium Löningen came to life in 1973. And so here we are some 50 years later celebrating our golden anniversary, truly a memorable milestone. We know of no other high-school exchange between our two countries that has thrived for so long. We are old friends.

I have taken 15 groups of NA students to Germany over

the years. It gets easier with practice but not with age. So, why do I keep on doing it? First, I get to be the one that shows them the sights that so awed me when I first saw them. Second, the students get to use what they have been learning in the classroom (how often does that happen?). Finally, I get to be the one who introduces them to a new world and a new family, their host family. It is the homestay experience that has the power to transform us all, and it does. Years later, German Exchange alumni continue to reminisce with affection about “their” German family, “their” German brothers and sisters and parents, and about the laughter, love, and wonderful times they experienced. Given my own, and my students’ exchange experiences, I find myself often pondering this one question: What if every country on earth would commit to sending, say, one million or ten million young people on an exchange to a “foreign” country every year? Think about it. I believe it would change the world profoundly over just the next generation. Such a commitment would cost next to nothing, yet the benefits would persist indefinitely. We actually can change the world. Mark Twain understood this. So did Katherine Holmes and Jürgen Wiehe. So, now, I ask us all to simply consider the possibilities, nay miracles, we might engender when we enable our young people to see beyond their own little corner of the world.

Chris Nelson German Teacher German Exchange Director Norfolk Academy

Transatlantic lighthouse still shines...

The action of a beacon or lighthouse is to send a signal which should have the effect of creating numerous subsequent actions, and, just like a lighthouse, to send a far-reaching signal. It is intended to create awareness of what lies out there.

According to this definition, the founding of the exchange between Norfolk Academy and the Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen in 1973 is a classic “lighthouse project.” Everything started with an initiative from the Foreign Office and various state facilitators in the United States. They were looking for schools for exchanges between the two countries. In Löningen, a young, engaged English teacher, Jürgen Wiehe, stepped up to realize this initiative. On the American side, there was a German teacher, Katherine Homes, who wanted to take the same idea and make it a reality. And so it happened that a partnership between two schools emerged. On first look, it appeared that the two schools had very little in common. Here, a small, still unnamed Gymnasium in rural Oldenburger Münsterland and there, one of the most renowned private schools in the USA in Norfolk, VA. Together, the schools had and still have a great interest in uniting peoples and in cultural exchanges that extend beyond borders. What emerged back then as a sign of rapprochement and reconciliation after the Second World War quickly developed into a vibrant friendship with deep and enduring relations among students and teachers of both schools, even though the “Founding Fathers” are no longer involved. Jürgen Wiehe passed away several years ago, and Katherine Holmes is now enjoying a well deserved retirement.

At the Norfolk Academy, Chris Nelson has been the organizer and driver of the exchange for some 20 years. In Löningen, Dr. Wolfgang Sieverding became the coordinator who then passed the reins to Elisabeth Rüve about 15 years ago. But without the strong teamwork and interest of many colleagues and administrators on both sides, such a sizable undertaking could never have continued so smoothly and sustainably. The exchange continued even under the recent pandemic in a virtual format. In 2022 a few Americans at least were able to come to Löningen. In 2023 a “proper” exchange is taking place once again.

So what does this exchange actually look like?

Every year around Easter, about 15-20 juniors travel with two faculty

chaperones to Norfolk. The fact that it is so easy to find two teachers here who are so willing to “sacrifice” their Easter vacation attests to the value of the program. And one can readily see the enthusiasm with which the students want to be part of the exchange. Despite the not insignificant costs there are more students who want to go than there are places. Since the beginning we have decided who goes with a lottery. During the exchange the students are hosted by guest families. The relationships that arise from that experience often last for many years. One participant from 2005 returned to the US after graduation and later married an American. Some elements of the exchange include attending school, visiting sights of local interest, and enjoying stays in Washington, DC., and New York City. In this way the participants improve their English proficiency and also acquire important understandings of American history and culture. During their time in school, the participants attend classes in all subjects and work together with their American partners on various school projects. In the afternoon many students take part in sports through which they become acquainted with some totally new sports.

The reciprocal visit by the Americans takes place in June of the same year. They attend classes. The typical program also includes a 3-day trip to Berlin and several day trips, including to the Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven. It is here that at least a handful of students were able to locate the records documenting the emigration of their ancestors. There’s also a handful of Americans every year who discover an absolutely novel means of transportation, the bicycle!

In the effort to deepen the exchange experience, we established a longer term exchange for 1 or 2 students a few years ago. Students in the 10th grade can spend two months in the other country while they attend regular classes in school. Both schools now hope to be able to reinvigorate the long-term exchange.

In this spirit: Ad multos annos!!!

Elisabeth Rüve

History and English Teacher at Copernicus-Gymnasium and Director of the Norfolk Academy Exchange

Glenn Youngkin ’85

Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia

Kenneth Alexander

Mayor of the City of Norfolk, Virginia

March 13, 2023

Dear Dennis Manning,

It is my great pleasure to congratulate you as Headmaster of Norfolk Academy on 50 years of exchanges between Norfolk Academy in Virginia and Copernicus-Gymnasium in Löningen as part of the German American Partnership Program

The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) as an organization was founded in 1972. It supports over 730 secondary schools in the U.S. that have short -term reciprocal exchanges with schools in Germany. These experiences abroad result in more well-rounded, culturally aware young people as they go off to college and beyond.

The partnership between Norfolk Academy and Copernicus -Gymnasium is a wonderful example of cross-cultural understanding that spans decades and brings communities together. It began in 1973, with the first exchange taking place in 1974, making it one of GAPP`s most long -standing partnerships. With over 1,500 having participated in this particular exchange alone, it is also one of the GAPP partnerships with the largest number of alumni.

In order to properly celebrate 50 years of exchanges between the two schools, GAPP would also like to recognize Norfolk Academy as a GAPP school of distinction, for which we are presenting you with this plaque. We hope you will display it proud ly in your school. Thank you for all that you do to make this opportunity available to generations of students.

Kind regards,

Molly Rowland Executive Director GAPP, Inc.

Molly Rowland Executive Director GAPP, Inc.

School is supposed to be the place of encounter, experimentation, and the development of young people — together with others of their same age — in an environment which affords them not only a secure foothold, but also inspires and nurtures. The Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen takes this calling seriously and fulfills it with life! The CopernicusGymnasium looks to the horizon and gives students the space they need to grow beyond their own horizons and to spread their arms and expand their view.

The German-American school partnership is shaping the students of the Copernicus-Gymnasium in their own personal development profoundly. Those who have the chance at a young age to learn about new cultures, customs, perspectives, and opinions and to examine them closely with tolerance, confidence, and strength are equipped for their own personal lives. Those are priceless, helpful requirements for a satisfying and good future.

Our society, to be sure our world community, will need introspective, empathetic, creative, interested, and engaged young people. The coming-of-age generation must secure the safety of society. The way the future will look depends on them. The Copernicus-Gymnasium is preparing them for the future in the best possible sense.

Excerpts from Mr. Wulff’s letter

Christian Wulff Former Federal President of Germany

Grußwort für das Musical Projekt des Copernicus Gymnasiums Löningen Bundespräsident a.D. Christian Wulff

Sehr geehrte Lehrerschaft, sehr geehrte Schülerinnen und Schüler des Copernicus-Gymnasiums Löningen, Schule soll der Ort der Begegnung, des Experimentierens, der Entfaltung und der Entwicklung junger Menschen - zusammen mit Gleichaltrigen - in einer Umgebung sein, die ihnen nicht nur Halt bietet, sondern sie inspirieren und fördern soll. Das CopernicusGymnasium Löningen nimmt diesen Auftrag sehr ernst und erfüllt ihn mit Leben! Das Copernicus-Gymnasium blickt über den Tellerrand und bietet gleichermaßen den Schülerinnen und Schülern Raum, über den eigenen Horizont hinauszuwachsen, die Arme auszustrecken und den Blick zu weiten.

Seit 50 Jahren pflegen Sie eine wichtige Partnerschaft, über den Atlantik hinweg - zu unseren transatlantischen Freunden. Das ist die am längsten bestehende Schulpartnerschaft zwischen einer amerikanischen und einer deutschen Schule. Das ist eine Leistung, zu der ich von Herzen gratuliere und ermuntere, diese weiter intensiv und mit Blick auf Langfristigkeit zu pflegen. Wie jede gute Beziehung und Freundschaft, braucht auch diese Partnerschaft gegenseitiges Bemühen, Engagement und Vertrauen. Dafür ist Zeit und Hingabe nötig. Sie bauen Brücken, über die Grenzen hinweg. Und sie bauen diese Brücke nicht mit staubigem Zement und Ziegeln, sondern mit viel Herz, mit Musik, mit Gesang, mit Ideenvielfalt, mit Leidenschaft. Das sind gute Voraussetzungen für langjährige und fruchtvolle Beziehungen, die Freude bereiten. Ein Fundament, auf das man bauen kann. Eine Basis, die Sicherheit gibt.

Die deutsch-amerikanische Schulpartnerschaft prägt die Schülerinnen und Schüler des Copernicus-Gymnasiums auch in ihrer ganz persönlichen Entwicklung intensiv. Wer in jungen Jahren die Chance hat, andere Kulturen, Bräuche, andere Perspektiven und Meinungen kennenzulernen und sich damit auf Augenhöhe auseinanderzusetzen, istneben all dem Wissensvorsprung - mit Toleranz, Zuversicht und Stärke für das persönliche weitere Leben ausgestattet. Das sind unbezahlbare, hilfreiche Voraussetzungen für eine zufriedenstellende und gute Zukunft.

Ich freue mich sehr, dass sich die Norfolk Academy mit Schauspielerinnen und Schauspielern, Sängerinnen und Sängern beteiligt und das Copernicus-Gymnasium mit seinem Orchester zu dem Musical-Projekt beitragen wird. Als Präsident des Deutschen Chorverbandes erlebe ich regelmäßig, welch verbindende und heilende Kraft Musik und Gesang haben. Selbst in Krisenzeiten und schlechten Phasen sind Musik und Gesang ein Anker für uns - sie schenken Halt und Kraft.

Großartig finde ich auch, dass im Rahmen des Projekts über Politik, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft diskutiert wird. So kann jede und jeder seinen Interessensschwerpunkt vertiefen, hören, was es Neues gibt, sich über gesellschaftliche Veränderungen informieren, Fragen stellen und Anregungen finden, um herauszufinden, wo man sich persönlich vielleicht in Zukunft noch stärker einbringen könnte.

Zugänge zu schaffen und Begegnungen zu ermöglichen, das baut auch Hass und Feindseligkeit vor. Wer einander begegnet, der entwickelt Empathie füreinander und Verständnis.

Reflektierte, empathische, kreative, interessierte und engagierte junge Menschen wird unsere Gesellschaft, ja unsere Welt-Gemeinschaft brauchen. Denn die heranwachsende Generation wird den Zusammenhalt der Gesellschaft sichern müssen, es wird an ihr liegen, wie die Zukunft aussieht. Das Copernicus-Gymnasium bereitet sie im besten Sinne darauf vor.

Burkhard Sibbel Mayor of the City of Löningen, Germany

Pressemitteilung Stadt Löningen 20.12.2022

Grußwort des Bürgermeisters der Stadt Löningen zum 50-jährigen Jubiläum der Schulpartnerschaft der Norfolk Academy (Virginia, USA) mit dem Copernicus-Gymnasium in Löningen

Liebe Freundinnen und Freunde der Schulpartnerschaft zwischen der Norfolk Academy und dem CopernicusGymnasium!

Die Norfolk Academy (Virginia, USA) und das Copernicus-Gymnasium in Löningen feiern im Jahr 2023 ihr 50-jähriges Jubiläum der Schulpartnerschaft.

Die Partnerschaft mit der Norfolk Academy besteht seit 1973 und ist damit die am längsten bestehende Schulpartnerschaft zwischen einer amerikanischen und einer deutschen Schule. Zum Austausch gehören ein jeweils dreiwöchiges Besuchsprogramm in Norfolk bzw. in Löningen sowie ein sog. Individualaustausch.

Zu diesem Anlass gratuliere ich im Namen von Rat und Verwaltung der Stadt Löningen, aber auch persönlich, recht herzlich. Die Stadt Löningen ist stolz auf diese langjährige Verbindung.

Die Bedeutung der Partnerschaft des Löninger Gymnasiums mit der Norfolk Academy ist überragend. Denn diese Partnerschaft ist nicht nur mit einem großen menschlichen Interesse und einer noch größeren Sympathie der Teilnehmer füreinander, sondern auch mit für die Entwicklung der beiden Städte wichtigen Inhalten gefüllt. Im Laufe von 50 Jahren haben die beiden Einrichtungen gemeinsam an den für die Einwohner der Städte so aktuellen Themen, wie Inklusionspädagogik, Förderung der Kreativität der Kinder und Entwicklung von Projekten gearbeitet.

Nicht weniger wichtig ist die Tatsache, dass dank der Zusammenarbeit der Bildungseinrichtungen junge Leute, die morgen unsere gemeinsame Zukunft bestimmen werden, weltoffen geworden sind und über den „eigenen Länder-Tellerrand“ hinausblicken konnten. Für uns ist es äußerst wichtig, dass junge Leute den verantwortungsvollen Weg der Entscheidungen als Erwachsene ohne Vorurteile in Bezug auf die anderen Länder betreten, selbstverständlich aber mit Verständnis für die Unterschiede in Kultur und Mentalität der Völker.

50 Jahre Schulpartnerschaft sind auch 50 Jahre Arbeit weit über den beruflichen und den schulischen Alltag hinaus; zusätzliche Arbeit für die Partnerschaft. Ohne diesen besonderen Einsatz hätte die Verbindung seine 50 Jahre nicht erreichen können. Das Jubiläum gibt eine gute Gelegenheit, meine Dankbarkeit an alle Beteiligten und Organisatoren der Partnerschaft auszusprechen Ein besonderer Dank gebührt auch den zahlreichen Aktiven, die sich für die diesjährige Festwoche und die Jubiläumsaktivitäten sowie diese Festschrift engagiert haben.

Die Stadt Löningen ist zwar nicht Schulträger des Löninger Copernicus-Gymnasiums, die Schule ist aber dennoch untrennbar mit unserer Stadt verbunden. Der Landkreis Cloppenburg kümmert sich in vorbildlicher Art und Weise um die Schule. Gerade die jüngsten Baumaßnahmen, die Modernisierungen, die Erweiterungen, die der Landkreis Cloppenburg hier am Standort vollzogen hat, beweisen, wie wichtig dem Landkreis dieser Schulstandort ist. Dieses macht mich, den Rat und die Verwaltung der Stadt Löningen sehr froh. Ja, dieses macht alle Löningerinnen und alle Löninger sehr froh.

Ich wünsche der Schulpartnerschaft zwischen der Norfolk Academy und dem Copernicus-Gymnasium auch für die kommenden Jahre viel Erfolg. Allen Gästen anlässlich der Festwoche wünsche ich einen angenehmen Aufenthalt in unserer schönen Hasestadt und viele in Erinnerung bleibende Begegnungen.

Bürgermeister -

Burkhard Sibbel -

The importance of the partnership between Löningen Gymnasium and Norfolk Academy is outstanding. Because this partnership is filled not only with a great human interest and an even greater sympathy of the participants for each other, but also with important content for the development of the two cities. Over the course of 50 years, the two institutions have worked together on issues that are so topical for the inhabitants of the cities, such as inclusive education, the promotion of children’s creativity and the development of projects.

No less important is the fact that, thanks to the cooperation of educational institutions, young people, who tomorrow will determine our common future, have become cosmopolitan, and have been able to look beyond “their own country horizons”. For us, it is extremely important that young people take the responsible path of decision-making as adults, without prejudice towards other countries, but of course with understanding of the differences in culture and mentality of peoples.

50 years of school partnership are also 50 years of work far beyond professional and school life; additional work for the partnership. Without this special commitment, the connections would not have been able to reach a 50-year milestone. The anniversary is a good opportunity to express my gratitude to all those involved and organizers of the partnership.

An excerpt from Mr. Sibbel’s letter

Gernot Stiwitz

Head of the Pedagogical Exchange Service (PAD) of the Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK)

Grußwort zum 50jährigen Bestehen der deutsch-amerikanischen Schulpartnerschaft zwischen dem Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen und der Norfolk Academy

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, anlässlich von Goldenen Hochzeiten wird den Jubilaren gerne eine Reihe von Fragen gestellt: Wie haben sich die Partner kennengelernt? Wie verlief die erste Begegnung? Ab wann wussten die beiden, dass sie ihren Weg gemeinsam gehen wollten? Was waren die Höhen (und vielleicht auch Tiefen), was die bemerkenswertesten Ereignisse der Beziehung? Welche Freunde haben den Bund begleitet? Gibt es Rezepte oder Ratschläge, die das Paar anderen mit auf den Weg geben kann?

Angesichts des fünfzigjährigen Jubiläums der Partnerschaft des Copernicus-Gymnasiums Löningen mit der Norfolk Academy tauchen ähnliche Fragen auf. Tatsächlich schien der wohl recht turbulente erste Telefonkontakt der beiden Schulleiter 1973 überhaupt nicht auf eine feste Verbindung der Schulen in der Zukunft hinzudeuten. Die erste Begegnung jedoch hatte anscheinend etwas von spontaner Liebe. Und so begann ein halbes Jahrhundert mit regelmäßigen Begegnungen und intensivem Austausch über den Atlantik und einer der ältesten Schulpartnerschaften, die das German American Partnership Program GAPP aufzuweisen hat 1973, mitten im sogenannten Kalten Krieg gegründet, nicht einmal 30 Jahre nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs und wohl noch unter den spürbaren Nachwirkungen des politischen Aktivismus der 1960er-Jahre, durchlebte Ihre Schulpartnerschaft die Zeit des NATO-Doppelbeschlusses mit ihren nicht immer amerikafreundlichen Strömungen in den frühen 1980er-Jahren. Es folgten die Euphorie des Mauerfalls 1989 und der deutschen Wiedervereinigung 1990. Elf Jahre später erschütterte der Angriff auf das World Trade Center in New York die USA und die Welt. Spannungen haben auch seither beide Kontinente heimgesucht, Wirtschaftskrisen, Naturkatastrophen, politische Krisen und eine weltweite Pandemie.

Ihre Partnerschaft ist sicher von all diesen Turbulenzen berührt und vielleicht manchmal auch erschüttert worden, aber nie daran zerbrochen. Dies zeugt von einer außergewöhnlich tiefen Verbundenheit beider Einrichtungen und der Beharrlichkeit aller Beteiligten auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks, die mit der Koordination des Austauschs und der Pflege der Freundschaft betraut waren und sind.

Der Pädagogische Austauschdienst des Sekretariats der Kultusministerkonferenz, der seit langem im Rahmen von GAPP die Begegnungen beider Schulen und ihrer Schülerinnen und Schüler unterstützt, erlaubt sich, sich als Begleiter Ihrer außergewöhnlichen und intensiven deutsch-amerikanischen Beziehung zu verstehen, dies umso mehr, da GAPP im Jahr 2022 selbst fünfzig Jahre alt geworden ist. Das Copernicus-Gymnasium und die Norfolk Academy sind also „GAPP-Schulen der ersten Stunde“ Sie haben in dieser langen Zeit einen enorm wichtigen Beitrag zur besseren Verständigung von jungen Menschen aus Deutschland und den USA geleistet. Und sicher können Sie auch Schulen, die noch am Anfang einer Partnerschaft stehen, aus Ihren reichhaltigen Erfahrungen wertvolle Ratschläge geben. Es freut uns ganz besonders, dass Sie nach der durch Corona verursachten Unterbrechung von echten Schülerbegegnungen, die für einige GAPP-Partnerschaften leider zu einem Ende der Beziehung geführt hat, nunmehr in Ihrem Jubiläumsjahr wieder unbeirrt reale Treffen der Schülerinnen und Schüler Ihrer Schulen planen und den erprobten Weg weiter gehen.

Wir gratulieren Ihnen allen herzlich zu stolzen 50 Jahren deutsch-amerikanischer Freundschaft und wünschen Ihnen auch weiterhin viele erfolgreiche und spannende Begegnungen sowie alles Gute für die Zukunft Ihrer Partnerschaft und Ihrer beiden Schulen!

The CopernicusGymnasium and the Norfolk Academy are GAPP-schools of the first generation. You have made an enormously important contribution to better understanding by young people from Germany and the USA. Given your rich experiences, you can also surely give sound advice about starting a partnership.

An excerpt from Mr. Wimberg’s letter

The Löningen model for school exchange has become a school itself. Many school partnerships have emerged in the 50 years since the start of this long, close friendship that stretches from the Hase (River) across the “big pond.”

But none has endured as long as this one. Two cultures have been learning from each other for five decades, discovering differences and similarities, forging friendships, and having experiences that will last a lifetime.

Grußwort des Landkreises Cloppenburg

Internationales schulisches Musical-Projekt Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen

Liebe Schülerinnen und Schüler, liebe Eltern, liebes Lehrerkollegium,

das Löninger Modell des Schulaustauschs hat „Schule“ gemacht. 50 Jahre nach dem Beginn dieser langen und intensiven Freundschaft von der Hase „über den großen Teich“ sind viele Schulpartnerschaften in die USA entstanden. Doch keine währt so lange wie diese. Fünf Jahrzehnte lang lernen zwei Kulturen voneinander, entdecken Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten in den verschiedensten Variationen, knüpfen Freundschaften und machen Erfahrungen, von denen im besten Fall ein Leben lang gezehrt werden kann.

Dass dieses doppelte Jubiläum in diesem Jahr praktisch mit gemeinsamen Projekten gefeiert und die Beziehung so noch einmal intensiviert wird, zeigt, dass die Schulpartnerschaft zwischen Norfolk und Löningen eine besondere ist. Dass das CGL einen Weg gefunden hat, auch Schülerinnen und Schülern mit besonderer musikalischer Begabung diese Reise zu ermöglichen, weitgehend unabhängig vom finanziellen Spielraum ihrer Eltern, wertet dieses Projekt noch einmal auf. Ich freue mich bereits darauf, dass in diesem Jahr Schülerinnen und Schüler aus Löningen und Norfolk zusammen an vielen Orten musizieren werden um allen zu zeigen, dass man sich nicht nur sprachlich gut versteht.

Cloppenburg, im Januar 2023

Landrat des Landkreises Cloppenburg

Johann Wimberg County Judge for the Country of Cloppenburg

Excerpts from Mr. Link’s letter

The remarkable thing about GAPP is that it consists of a network of involved teachers, enlightened parents, and enthusiastic students from both countries.

The partnership between CopernicusGymnasium Löningen and the Norfolk Academy is a superb example for what GAPP can accomplish. It is truly remarkable that both schools have not only maintained, but also renewed and further developed their partnership despite the changes in teachers and school administrations over the past 50 years.

It creates encounters that none of the participants will ever forget and that elicit friendships and enable insights into the other society.

Michael Georg Link

Member of the German Bundestag

Grußwort des Koordinators für die Transatlantische Zusammenarbeit Michael Georg Link, MdB für die Festschrift des Copernicus-Gymnasiums Löningen zum 50-jährigen Bestehen der GAPP-Partnerschaft mit der Norfolk-Academy in Virginia

Der andauernde und große Erfolg des German American Partnership Program (GAPP), eines gemeinsamen Projekts der Bundesregierung und des US-amerikanischen Außenministeriums, das in den über 50 Jahren seines Bestehens unzählige Freundschaften zwischen Deutschen und USAmerikanern gestiftet hat, beeindruckt mich immer wieder aufs Neue. Der Ursprung von GAPP liegt in einer Initiative des Goethe-Instituts Boston, das 1972 die Idee hatte, Schulen aus Deutschland und den USA mit Interesse an Austausch und Partnerschaft zusammenzubringen. Aus bescheidenen Anfängen hat sich GAPP zu einer festen Größe in der deutsch-amerikanischen Zusammenarbeit entwickelt und vielen jungen Amerikanern und jungen Deutschen ermöglicht, das Partnerland zu entdecken. Das Besondere an GAPP ist, dass es als Netzwerk engagierter Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, überzeugter Eltern und begeisterter Schülerinnen und Schüler aus beiden Ländern besteht. Im Laufe der Jahre ermöglichte GAPP mehr als 400.000 US-amerikanischen und deutschen Jugendlichen, den Atlantik zu überqueren und einen Eindruck vom Leben an ihrer Partnerschule zu bekommen. Heute gibt es 700 aktive GAPP-Schulpartnerschaften und in regulären Jahren nehmen etwa 10.000 Schülerinnen und Schüler an einem GAPP-Austausch teil. In allen deutschen Bundesländern und fast allen US-amerikanischen Bundesstaaten gibt es GAPP-Partnerschulen. In vielen Fällen haben sich GAPP-Partnerschaften über lange Zeiträume entwickelt und zu echten Bindungen nicht nur zwischen einzelnen Schülern und Lehrern, sondern auch innerhalb den jeweiligen Gemeinden geführt.

Die Partnerschaft des Copernicus-Gymnasiums in Löningen und der Norfolk Academy in Virginia ist ein hervorragendes Beispiel dafür, was GAPP bewirken kann. Es ist wirklich bemerkenswert, dass diese beiden Schulen an ihrer 1973 begonnenen GAPP-Partnerschaft über 50 Jahre nicht nur festgehalten haben, sondern trotz der verschiedenen Wechseln bei Lehrkräften und Schulleitungen die Partnerschaft aktualisiert und weiterentwickelt haben. Konkret zeigt sich die engagierte Kooperation der beiden Schulen im laufenden Musical-Projekt. Es illustriert, was im Rahmen einer solchen Partnerschaft möglich ist, um gemeinsam eine neue transatlantische Generation zu fördern. Aus diesem Grund hat das Auswärtige Amt dieses außergewöhnliche Projekt außerhalb der regulären GAPP-Förderung unterstützt und mit einer großzügigen Förderung neben anderen wie der Dr. Hildegart Schnetkamp Stiftung oder des Fördervereins des Copernicus-Gymnasiums zu der Realisierung des Projekts beigetragen.

Dass es den beiden Schulen gelungen ist, den US-Komponist Stephen Melillo für das Projekt zu begeistern, war ein erster Erfolg. Es gelang ein Stück zu schaffen, das von der Gründungsidee der GAPP-Partnerschaft und der besonderen Geschichte zwischen Löningen und Norfolk beginnend auch das Verhältnis zwischen Deutschland, Europa und den USA in mehreren Schritten musikalisch entwickelt. Das besondere Verdienst ist jedoch, dass hier exemplarisch herausgestellt wird, wie ein musikalisch, tänzerisch und schauspielerisch ambitioniertes Schulprojekt zwischen Deutschland und den USA durch gemeinsame Projektkoordinierung, künstlerische Vision und Praxis Realität wird. Es schafft Begegnungen, die keiner der Beteiligten je vergessen wird, die Freundschaften entstehen lassen und Einblicke in die jeweils andere Gesellschaft ermöglichen. Klar ist, dass nur der große Einsatz der Schülerinnen und Schüler und ihrer Lehrkräfte diese Vorzeigeinitiative der transatlantischen Partnerschaft und Freundschaft möglich macht. Ganz herzlichen Dank hierfür.

Ich wünsche allen Beteiligten des Musicals viel Spaß und Erfolg bei den anstehenden Aufführungen. Dem Copernicus-Gymnasiums Löningen und der Norfolk-Academy in Virginia wünsche ich gelungene Jubiläumswochen und für die nächsten 50 Jahre alles Gute und weiterhin eine so wertvolle Unterstützung durch die Menschen, die diese Partnerschaft mit Leben erfüllen.

We Hold These Truths

An Original Composition by Stephen Melillo

#1310 in 40:00 of 8 Movements for Actors, Singers, Dancers, Storytellers, Artists and Grade 3-4 Band of the 3rd Millennium™ by © Stephen Melillo, IGNA 7 MAY 2022

2-3 Millennium, STORMWORKS, ASCAP

1. A Tale of Two Countries (6:22)

2. In the Courts of Time (6:03)

3. Love Not War (4:52)

4. International Polka (3:42)

5. Never Forgotten... Once More (3:11)

6. Montage, die Magie der Freunde (4:30)

7. A Requiem of Two Poems (opt. 5:50 or 8:25)

8. Wrap 2023 (5:21)

Commissioned by Copernicus-Gymnasium, Löningen, Germany Ralf Göken, Headmaster & Norfolk Academy, Norfolk, Virginia, USA Dennis Manning, Headmaster

In Celebration of The 50th anniversary, in 2023, of a continuing exchange program and special Friendship that has and will continue to change lives.

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” I always marvel at this ingenious and timeless opening line to A Tale of Two Cities. As relevant as it could be to the experiences of high school students, the front cover art is a photograph of my 16-year-old son and his girlfriend looking out across the water and into the Sunset. I wrote the Music for them. With young adults finding their way in these best and worst of times, I set out to provide an experience in Music that would become an enduring Memory.

Stephen Melillo Composer

Never Forgotten… Once More

Movement 5 from “We Hold These Truths”

Many stories surround and indwell this piece, now transformed into a single “movement” from “We Hold These Truths.”

Though I had visited the Cemetery in Luxembourg, I did not see this quite personal grave marker resting in the same field as General Patton. This “Melillo” marker, belonging to a first generation American of Italian origins, was photographed by a Director friend who was shooting his film in Luxembourg at the time. I was scoring his film, “Retrograde,” from our Virginia home. The house had been literally cut in half by Hurricane Isabel. In squalor and duress the 74-minute score was composed and shipped to Luxembourg.

Beyond the tree-line in this photo above is another Cemetery. It is the Sandweiler Cemetery where 10,913 German soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, now rest in Peace. Ironic and sad beyond words, this battle took place on the birth date of Beethoven who foresaw that “Alle Menschen werden Brüder.” All People Become Brothers. Ironic too, that my Mom passed away on this same date of 16 December. She was 10 years old on the day that the European side of WWII ended.

In both cemeteries, on the same grass, I fell to my knees and wept. I weep now, remembering and contemplating the terrible, awful waste of war. For that reason, and in the unique relationship of a German and American exchange program, now in its 50th Anniversary, “Never Forgotten... Once More” is humbly offered.

One of the Truths we hold is to forever remember the enormity of the countless Sacrifices. We must learn. As this Music is written, Ukraine is attacked. Let the Past teach us. We must choose Love... not war.

Godspeed!

Stephen Melillo, Composer

A Personal Message from the Composer

In 1973, my sophomore year at Greenwich High School, two schools began an exchange program. From Löningen, Germany, from the district of Cloppenburg/Lower Saxony, is Copernicus-Gymnasium. From Norfolk, Virginia, literally minutes away from my current home in the United States of America, is The Norfolk Academy. The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the two schools, of a special Friendship, and of a continuing exchange program that has changed, and will continue to change lives.

This work was commissioned in celebration of the anniversary, while at the same Time, offering “lessons learned” if you will, at a moment in History when a sovereign country was invaded. As I write these notes, we are approaching 2023 and we are living during the conflicts of War. But one day, all of this, including the Music, will be in the distant Past.

What then is the message to be shared? What Truths do We Hold? With that in mind, and spanning everything from adventure, fun, Friendship, and magic to the contemplations of Peace and the Brotherhood of Humanity, this work is humbly offered.

I am forever grateful to Headmasters Ralf Göken and Dennis Manning, to all the many Teachers involved in the project, and to all the student Musicians and Actors and Storytellers and Dancers. How beautiful that people COME TOGETHER rather than draw lines in the sands of Time. Let us learn from these fine young people and their Teachers. Let us too, Hold These Truths.

The Composer

Stephen Melillo

Composer

Aworld-renowned composer, winner of multiple Gold Global Music Awards, and a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Epic/Orchestral Music, Mr. Melillo’s more than 1320 works include 4 symphonies, several concerti, and over 46 hours of Music for Ensembles of the 3rd Millennium™ His Symphony IIII: Lightfall, was nominated for the Pulitzer and Nemmers Prize in Music. Winner of three 2009 Telly & Ava Awards for his 2005 Visualized Concert, Kakehashi: That We Might Live, Mr. Melillo’s concert version was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. A fourth Telly Award was given for “Best Use of Music” in the 2019 feature film, One Little Finger, produced by Rupam Sarmah. A fifth Telly Award included Mr. Melillo’s work on the 2019 Reckoning of Darkness produced by Christopher Kulikowski. Mr. Melillo’s 15 feature film scores include the Academy Award-nominated 12:01 PM

Mr. Melillo has been a recipient of the ASCAP Concert Awards each year since 1992. STORMWORKS, his pioneering, self-publishing entity, has gone from zero to many thousands of worldwide renderings since 1992 simply by word-of-mouth. He has 51 Albums and 9 books on varied streaming services and novels, including Only for Now, Ahab, a Love Story, the prequel to Melville’s Moby Dick, and most recently, the sequel, Death to Moby Dick, a Love Story.

The Music Patron

Monika Schnetkamp The Music Patron

Grußwort zur Festschrift anlässlich des 50-jährigen Jubiläums des Austauschprogramms des Copernicus-Gymnasiums Löningen mit der Norfolk Academy in Virginia, USA

Bei den Jüngsten die Begeisterung für die Musik zu wecken und jugendliche Talente in ihrer musikalischen Entwicklung zu fördern und zu begleiten – das ist das Ziel der Dr. Hildegard Schnetkamp Stiftung, die meine Mutter 2017 gegründet hat. Eine besondere Freude für uns ist es nun, dass wir ein ganz außergewöhnliches Auftragswerk finanzieren konnten. Denn das 50-jährige Jubiläum der ältesten deutsch-amerikanischen Schulpartnerschaft hat weit mehr als nur einen Tusch verdient! So wurde der renommierte Komponist und Musikpädagoge

Stephen Melillo angefragt, ob er dafür eigens ein Musical komponieren könne. Er sagte sofort mit Freuden zu

Melillo hat bereits über 1000 Werke komponiert, darunter drei Sinfonien, Filmmusiken oder Soundtracks zu 28 Fernsehproduktionen. Eindrucksvoll gelingt es ihm immer wieder, anspruchsvolle zeitgenössische E-Musik mit unterhaltsamen Elementen zu verbinden. Das hat auch Erfolg bei kommerziellen Auftraggebern, etwa Spieleherstellern wie Nintendo oder Sega

Eine besondere Domäne Melillos ist Musik für Blasinstrumente in unterschiedlichen Besetzungen. So arbeitet er aktuell auch mit einem Ensemble zusammen, in dem Bläser eine dominante Rolle spielen, nämlich mit dem Musikcorps der Bundeswehr. Zu Deutschland pflegt Melillo also auch außerhalb von Löningen besondere Beziehungen.

Das Musical „We Hold These Truths“ ist geschrieben für sinfonisches Blasorchester, Chor sowie eine Solsängerin und einen Solosänger. Es handelt sich um eine Vertonung und szenische Inszenierung wichtiger Etappen des Austauschprogramms. Uraufgeführt wird das Werk in der Norfolk Academy in Virginia. Zu den Jubiläumsfeiern im Juni 2023 wird es dann in Löningen zu hören und zu sehen sein. Das Copernicus-Gymnasium stellt dabei das Orchester, die Norfolk Academy den Chor und sie steuert die tänzerischen und schauspielerischen Elemente bei

Als ehemalige Abiturientin des Copernicus-Gymnasiums durfte ich selbst 1979 an dem Austauschprogramm teilnehmen und weiß daher aus eigener Erfahrung um seine nachhaltige und eindringliche Wirkung. Vor allem nach den Einschränkungen der vergangenen Jahre ist es wichtig, Begegnungen mit Menschen aus anderen Ländern, den interkulturellen Dialog und die Offenheit und den Mut junger Menschen besonders zu fördern. Daher ist mir die Unterstützung einer solchen und zudem musikalischen Kooperation ein persönliches Anliegen und eine große Freude.

Es ist zudem eine besondere Ehre, dass Stephen Melillo für das Projekt gewonnen werden konnte Unser Dank gilt auch dem Förderverein des Gymnasiums, der die Reisen des jungen Auswahlorchesters fördert.

Wir gratulieren sehr herzlich zum Jubiläum und wünschen allen Schülerinnen und Schülern eine wundervolle Zeit sowie einprägsame musikalische Erfahrung!

Ihre

Monika Schnetkamp, Vorstand der Dr. Hildegard Schnetkamp Stiftung

An excerpt from Ms. Schnetkamp’s letter

As an alumna of the Copernicus-Gymnasium, I was allowed to participate in the exchange in 1979 and know from my own experience about its enduring and poignant impact. In light of the limitations of the last few years, it is important to facilitate encounters with people from other countries and support intercultural dialogue and the openness and courage of young people. That’s why the support of this relationship, moreover a musical one, is a personal interest of mine and one that brings me great joy.

The Orchestra Philipp Hemmen

Mr. Hemmen was born in Löningen, and graduated from Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen in 2000. He was a member of the Marinemusikkorps Wilhelmshaven from 2000-2001, playing the saxophone and trumpet. Mr. Hemmen studied music (with orchestral conducting) and history at the University of Osnabrück from 20012006. He returned to the Copernicus-Gymnasium Löningen in 2009 as a music and history teacher and currently serves as the Head of the Music Department, Master Teacher, and Director of the School Orchestra.

Linus Benken Trompete

Caroline Block Klarinette

Marit Bohmann Euphonium

Lisa Bolte Gesang

Paul Bremer Schlagwerk

Emma Buschermöhle Saxophon

Klaus Dalinghaus Tuba

Theodor Flatken Klavier Bassklarinette

Katharina Gerdes Oboe

Justus Gieseler Trompete

Lasse Glöe Schlagwerk

Franziska Goer Fagott

Johanna Goer Klarinette

Anton Göwert Horn

Greta Höffer Euphonium

Tabea Hoppe Klarinettee

Leonie Janning Querflöten

Amelie Kaiser Saxophon

Greta Kirchner Querflöte

Aurica Koslik Saxophont

Talida Koslik Querflöte

Maurice Köster Mallets

Gerrit Krüger Horn

Leni Lembeck Oboe

Emily Meyer Schlagwerk

Hanna Luise Meyer Querflöte

Anna-Maria Moorkamp Querflöte

Anna Morasch Klavier

Juliane Ochs Saxophon

Carolin Röpke Klarinette

Friederike Sibbel Trompete

Theresa Thyen Posaune

Katharina Tönnies Piccoloflöte

Hanna Waterholter Tenorsaxophon

Alexandra Wessels Euphonium

Katharina Wessels Klarinette

Simon Westerkamp Posaune

Sophia Willen Tuba

Helene Wynant Saxophon

Florian Röpke Trompete

Hella Rosemeyer Klarinette

Tobias Schwegmann Posaune

Mr. Doane joined the Norfolk Academy Fine Arts Department in 2021. He is a graduate of Whitman College with a masters degree from the University of Utah where he served as the pianist for the university’s choirs and worked as the school’s Assistant Music Director for the Musical Theater Program. Mr. Doane has assistant directed and performed on six full stage productions, including Stephen Sondheim’s Company and Adam Guettel’s Floyd Collins, and performed and assistant directed in opera festivals in Germany (IPAI) and Italy (la Musica Lirica).

Cheney Doane

Alex Barton ’23 Tenor

Nora Clingenpeel ’25 Soprano

Olivia Crocker ’25 Alto

Annabelle Dyer ’23 Alto

Megan Evans ’25 Alto

Kadyn Johnson-Smith ’23 Bass

Owen Kulow ’25 Bass

Abigail Littlejohn ’25 Alto

Sophia Kamarek ’25 Soprano

Annalee Marling ’23 Alto

Lee McElligott ’23 Alto

Reagan McGee ’23 Soprano

Olivia Mize ’23 Soprano

CJ Murray ’25 Bass

Ben Parker ’25 Bass

Henry Patch ’23 Tenor

Aashi Patel ’25 Alto

Addie Peterson ’25 Soprano

Mack Peterson ’23 Alto

Anna Russell ’23 Soprano

Mackenzie Savage ’23 Alto

Meghan Savage ’23 Soprano

Lauren Schill ’23 Soprano

Noor Swanson ’25 Alto

Natalie Tajan ’24 Alto

Leo Tang ’25 Bass

Sydney Vest ’23 Soprano

Memories Gallery 1974

I was in what I believe is the first group that went to Germany in the summer of 1974. It was a wonderful experience. One thing that made it fun is that the World Cup was being played during that time and West Germany won! Highlights of the trip included a boat ride down the Rhine River, climbing up on the cliff at Lorelei overlooking the Rhine and seeing the Iron Curtain separating East and West Germany. I enjoyed the best strawberry torte I have ever had. And of course the people of Löningen were wonderful. One of the students threw a Fourth of July party at her house complete with red, white, and blue streamers and USA flags. It was fun to celebrate the Fourth of July in a tiny town in Germany.

A recollection of the first exchange submitted by Stephen Carr ’77 1983

Submitted by Grace Milteer Schaefermeier ’84

Submitted by Chris Nelson

Submitted by John Wroton ’86

Submitted by Chris Nelson

Submitted by Michael Holroyd ’02

Submitted by Michael Holroyd ’02

Submitted by Michael Holroyd ’02

Academy Players Perform Play about Anne Frank in Germany

An excerpt from Academy Magazine

In October 2001, the Academy Players first performed And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank, a multimedia play with documentary films, photographs, and music. When they produced the play again in April 2002 for a Holocaust commemoration, one of the members of the audience was Jürgen Wiehe, Founding Father of the German exchange and then-headmaster of Copernicus-Gymnasium.

Stunned by the power of the performance, Wiehe invited the troupe of 20 actors and technicians to bring the play to audiences in his home country. “So that such barbarity against humanity may never again occur, this performance serves also to remind us of what happened back then in the name of Germany, he said at the time. The Academy Players did three performances in June 2002 in Germany, and the emotional reaction was chronicled by a German newspaper: “The audience showed their appreciation for the unique history lesson with thunderous applause that lasted for over a minute in the filled-to-capacity Forum Hasetal.”

The actors and chaperones also toured areas that were the setting for the play, including Bergen-Belsen, the concentration camp where Anne Frank died. Headmaster Dennis Manning, who accompanied the students to Germany, said at the time, “After nearly 30 years of international cooperation, the historic trip underscores our commitment to global education.”

Submitted by Rebecca Nelson ’10

Submitted by Mary Heath Manning Dobosh ’13

Submitted by Kristi Fleenor Hoffman ’12

Submitted by Chrissy Shammas ’14

Submitted by Ben Feigenbaum ’15

Submitted by Chris Nelson

Submitted by Chris Nelson

Submitted by Stanton McDuffie ’18

Submitted by Chris Nelson

Parting Reflection

To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed — that can make life a garden.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe