Gala performances for U17 finals

The 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship is a cultural as well as sporting event and this weekend two gala concerts were held to mark the finals in Germany.

Youth theme
On Saturday night in Leipzig the Gewandhaus concert hall played host to an event with the theme of youth. This included a performance of the Gewandhaus children's choir, readings from competition-winning writings by local students on the theme of childhood and an exhibition of football memorabilia. Leipzig-born Germany goalkeeper René Adler was part of the jury that selected the texts.

Sporting performance
Then on Sunday afternoon the Volkshaus Jena's regular Kaffeekonzert given by the Jenaer Philharmonie was dedicated to the U17 finals under the title Ganz und gar sportlich – Totally sport. Hosted by orchestra director Bruno Scharnberg in a football kit, a selection of sport-themed pieces, including You'll Never Walk Alone, was played. The centrepiece was the German premiere of Enrico Chapela's Ínguesu, a piece inspired by his native Mexico's 4-3 defeat of Brazil in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup final, with conductor Nicholas Milton directing matters via a referee's whistle and giving an errant trombonist a red card.