| Florian Keller: My upbringing |
When I was seven I became a college student. I didn't quit elementary school I just took advantage of the music college and university ‘Mozarteum’ in Salzburg, Austria. They don’t have age discrimination. Moreover they have great programs for children like the Carl Orff method of music education. My father had helped found the Orff Institute just two years before. I joined that program which is called Orff Schulwerk and is best summarized as ‘elemental music’. It basically draws on the childrens natural creativity. Improvising along different sets of rules is the name of the game. It includes a combination of singing, dancing, and playing instruments sometimes all at the same time. The master educator invented his set of ‘Orff instruments’ as they are called all over the world. They are all some kind of percussion instruments: little xylophones, metallophones, Glockenspiel, wood blocks, cymbals and drums, to name just a few. At the same time I started learning piano and music theory. Later I added guitar, percussion, and voice.
When I was eight I joined the ‘Salzburger Adventsingen’, a traditional Christmas festival, which I am still a part of. It has been an exciting 35 years. I started as a shepherd boy, learning how to yodel from the master himself, Tobi Reiser, the folk music pioneer, who starred in The Sound of Music movie. Listen to some yodeling from my 'pioneer days'.
I went to what was called a ‘music gymnasium’, a high school that emphasized music and the arts. We performed in churches and the opera house, being part of operas like Carmen, La Boheme, and Tosca. I also joined several boys choirs, including the world famous Tölzer Boys Choir. That’s when I started to go on concert tours throughout Europe.
My parents had to push me through my teenage years so I wouldn’t quit. I thank them for that! After the voice break I started taking voice lessons. By then I had completed my courses in music theory and other required subjects. The greatest thing about the Mozarteum is that we had so many performance opportunities. We HAD to perform in public at least once every two weeks!
Now the collaboration with my father the composer started to heat up. You can read more about that on my family page. But I also took part in his ground breaking advances in music therapy. In 1982 I finished my studies at the Mozarteum which leads you straight to my resume page which continues with my professional life.
My early exposure to music helped me to become a confident performer. I am very critical about myself but I also know exactly what I can do. That explains a little bit the string of successful performances that will hopefully never end because I love the direct interaction with my audience.
